Don't Think So Much Annabeth
by KirstenCerece
Summary: 21 year old Annabeth Chase's life had been dedicated to gaining as much knowledge as possible, and building a career for herself in architecture. So when she decides to do what she truly wants, rather than the most logical, it flips her world upside down in ways she never could have predicted. It all started with a simple comment from Percy: "Don't think so much Annabeth". (AU AxP)
1. I: Thalia's Meddling

**Don't Think So Much Annabeth**

**Chapter I: Thalia's Meddling**

"Come on Annabeth. He's cute and has been staring at you since we sat down. Loosen up and take a chance for once, and stop being such a boring book wad." Annabeth snorted indignantly and tossed back the rest of her drink, grimacing at the bitter taste but enjoying it all the same.

"I am not a boring book wad! There is plenty of excitement in my life thank you very much." Thalia burst out laughing, almost spewing her drink all over Annabeth's pristine white shirt. Annabeth gave her a dirty look, brushing off the non-existent liquid.

"Oh please, a little triple sec on that shirt couldn't have ruined it. In fact it probably would have been an improvement. Who wears jeans and a white button up to a club for goodness sake, and do not tell me your jeans are acceptable because they have the ripped look." Annabeth just groaned at her friend's commentary and gently knocked her head on the table a few times. When was going to this club ever a good idea? Thalia kicked her under the table to get her attention again. Annabeth's head shot up, a glared etched on her face. Thalia nodded her head to the side, motioning towards the man with the black hair and bright green eyes looking in their direction.

"Just give him a smile. Seductive smile, shy smile, flirty smile, it doesn't matter. Just smile at him and I promise he'll stroll right over here and ask you to dance or ask if you want a drink. I swear."

"You're kidding. I smile and he'll come right over here?" Thalia nodded with a Cheshire grin, holding up her drink up in the air as a toast. Annabeth grumbled a few curses before adjusting her hair and shirt.

"Makeup's good, boobs look great, face is adorable, just do it already!" Annabeth just steeled herself and peeked at the stranger out of the corner of her eye. He was still looking at her, almost like he was waiting for something. Taking a deep breath, she tilted her head slightly and gave him what she hoped was a flirty look. A smile crept on his face before he stood up to come her way.

'Oh my gods it actually worked! He's actually very attractive, and is that a hint of muscle hiding under his shirt?'

Thalia muttered something about making herself scarce before winking and telling Annabeth to not think so much.

"So Miss…?" Annabeth felt a blush creeping on to her face as this green-eyed man gave her a smile that was kind but full of unspoken promises.

"Chase, but please call me Annabeth." He gestured at the seat across from her that Thalia had recently vacated to silently ask permission to sit with her. She smiled again and gracefully nodded her head to answer him.

"So Annabeth, what brings you to this club? Not to be offensive but you don't appear to be the partying type." He gestured to her clothes. She could only hear Thalia laughing in her head. Another blush dusted her cheeks, and she had to fight to keep from hiding under her curtain of blonde curls.

"I'm usually not, but my friend insisted I come with her tonight." The stranger inclined his head to ask Annabeth to elaborate.

"She tells me that my job isn't exciting and wants me to get out more and explore new things. She thought bringing me to a club would be a good start."

"Where do you work?"

"I'm an aspiring architect. Where do you work Mr…"

"Oh gosh, I'm sorry Annabeth. Jackson, Percy Jackson. As you said earlier, please call me by my first name. I work… in the business world." The way he flustered at first didn't go unnoticed by Annabeth, but she actually found it… endearing. She immediately decided she liked the less formal version of Percy despite her own lifestyle and upbringing being based off of formality. She decided to try and keep him from slipping back into his formal mode.

"So Percy, why are you here?" She asked purely out of curiosity, not intending him to give a truthful answer.

"I was looking for company for the night." Annabeth was taken aback by his forwardness; however Percy was quick to swoop back in to his defense.

"Sorry that came out wrong, Annabeth. I was looking for someone just to talk to for the night, you know just relax with, not an um, you know." Annabeth smiled as he got flustered again, but was still confused to a certain extent.

"So you went to a club for such company? Surely there are other areas you could have found company more suited for your needs?" He raked a hand through his hair, ruffling it more than it previously was.

"How about we skip my reasoning, and get out of here? Just walk the streets and see where the night takes us?" Annabeth bit her lip to run through all the possible scenarios in her head. She was going through the fact that she didn't even know anything about this man except that he was too handsome for his own good and that he was cute when flustered, when his hand came to rest on top of hers. The warmth seeped into her own cold hand along with the shock that traveled straight through her.

_'Don't think so much Annabeth.'_

"Yes." He smiled, and they took to the night.

~.~.~.~.~.~.

"Wait, so Thalia is your cousin. How come you didn't tell me when you saw me with her?" They were sitting on a roof of a random building, drinking wine after finishing their simple waffle cones with vanilla ice cream from a small yet amazingly delicious dairy parlor hidden within the city. A couple bottles of wine sat behind them in Annabeth's bag, one already almost empty. Their free hands were placed against the edge for balance, only a few centimeters to separate them. His left for a second to rake through his hair, a habit he had for when he got nervous or was having difficulty thinking of an answer to something.

"Well, to be honest I've seen you before tonight. I've seen you around with Thalia, and you just seemed so different from my cousin. She's all aggressive and reckless while you were sensible and gave off the air you could get anything you wanted just by using sheer knowledge. You just interested me pretty much. I overheard Thalia telling someone she was going to the club tonight and decided I would make an appearance on the off chance we would get to meet." Under normal circumstances Annabeth probably would have turned tomato red under the compliment, but the alcohol from the evening had her feeling bolder than usual.

"That was deep. When I saw you, well actually Thalia pointed you out, all I noticed was your hair, your eyes, and how in shape you were." He feigned hurt at first, due to her lack of noticing the details like he had.

"What about my hair, eyes, and body?" He gestured down his body to make Annabeth laugh. She tapped on her chin in mock thought, pretending to take time in her answer.

"Well, let's start with your hair. I first noticed how dark it was—not many guys have dark hair like that so of course it caught my eye. Secondly I noticed how it looked messy, like an attractive messy." Annabeth ran her free hand through his hair, secretly enjoying how soft it was. Percy looked shocked at her boldness, but placed his hand on hers in his own bold act.

"And my eyes?" Annabeth threaded her fingers in his hair tightly to pull him slightly closer.

"The color of your eyes is intriguing. I've never seen such a green on somebody who wasn't a natural auburn." He put down his wine glass and turned so his body was facing hers more directly. His hand came up to cup her face, which she leaned into. Her eyes held his, grey meeting green intimately for the first time.

"And the rest?" His voiced was quieter, almost to the point Annabeth had to strain to hear him. A small smile graced her face.

"I can appreciate when someone takes care of their body, especially when they get rather desirable side effects such as these." Annabeth ran her free hand up Percy's arm, then back down his chest and briefly scraped her nails on his abs through his shirt. He hissed in a breath before grabbing her hips and pulling her away from the edge to hover over her. He was close to kissing her neck, but Annabeth jumped when she heard a growl instead. Percy pulled back to look her in the eyes. Her heart was pounding, threatening to leap out of her chest and take the leap of faith off the rooftop.

"You're trying to make me look like a liar. If I remember correctly earlier tonight I promised this evening was just going to be having fun and talking." His words cleared the haze of alcohol from her mind long enough to realize what situation she had just gotten herself in. She started to agree with him, thinking of all the possible outcomes to talk herself out of it, until Annabeth realized something. If she was trying to talk herself out of doing this with Percy, then she wanted to do it.

"Don't think so much, Annabeth." Percy whispered, lowering his head to place a tender kiss on her forehead. It couldn't have been a coincidence to hear that three times in one night.

She made her decision.

"I didn't promise anything, and you promised me fun and talking. We've talked, and now I want to have some fun." Annabeth wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him closer to her, their lips meeting in the middle. When they pulled apart, Percy's eyes looked black his pupils were so dilated. She was breathing rapidly, all rational thoughts thrown out the window. When she shivered Percy pulled away still looking lustful but also concerned.

"Let's go somewhere else. You're cold." Percy sat back on his heels, pulling Annabeth up with him and rubbing her arms.

"My apartment sound okay?" She nodded, trying to bite back a moan from the delicious warmth he was providing. He smiled down at her after pulling them to their feet, sliding his jacket around her shoulders.

"Come on."

~.~.~.~.~.~.

"I think we're almost out." Annabeth examined the bottle of wine in her hand. Enough for two glasses remained, the rest consumed by Percy and her throughout the night. They had settled down on his couch, a Disney movie playing in the background. Their feet were kicked up onto the coffee table, Percy's arm around her shoulders despite them both being sunk down on the couch.

"Do we need more?" Percy's voice sent chills down her spine—probably the alcohol talking. She hummed in thought before deciding to attempt getting up for another bottle of something. Before she could get far, Percy grasped her arm and pulled her down on top of him. Usually Annabeth would be able to keep balance but her alcohol fueled mind simply let her fall into his lap. She started to giggle uncontrollably, Percy grinning at the laughing girl in front of him. Annabeth brushed the loose curls from out of her eyes, just to meet Percy's green ones staring at her.

"You're beautiful, you know that?" Annabeth burst out laughing again, shaking her head profusely. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she calmed down enough speak again.

"No, I'm not beautiful. I'm just a nerdy blonde architect from California." Percy leaned his head against the back of the couch and blew out a steady stream of air. He looked back down to still see Annabeth grinning stupidly up at him.

"How can I make you believe me, Annabeth?" Her grin melted into a serious face in a second. She wrapped her arm around his neck to get next to his ear.

"Show me." Percy didn't hesitate to pull her back just to smash their lips together a millisecond later. Before Annabeth could even process what was happening she found herself in Percy's bedroom. She squealed as he tossed her on the bed, joining her seconds later. His lips attacked her neck again, sucking and biting at any skin he could possibly reach, hands roaming everywhere to get Annabeth to make the moaning he found he enjoyed. The chance of hickies popped into her mind at some point, but the pleasure she was feeling managed to, for the first time in her life, cancel out any reasoning she could create.

"Believe me now?"

"Maybe I'm starting to believe you. I'm still not thoroughly convinced yet." Percy growled at Annabeth's response and resolved to change her mind, quickly. As things progressed, Percy felt he needed to try and get Annabeth out of her drunken state long enough to be sure she wanted this as much as he did. He knew his mind was clearer than hers seeing as he not only had a higher tolerance but hadn't had who knows how many shots before hand at the club. He pulled away from her warm body enough to look at Annabeth's beautiful grey eyes. She groaned at the loss of heat and attempted to pull him back down, only to fail and groan once again.

"Annabeth, I need to you stop for just a second." That snapped her back into some semblance of a right mind. He sighed in relief to see she wasn't wasted, just simply intoxicated. Until he saw the hurt beginning to swirl in her eyes. He rested his forehead against hers, looking for the truth behind the storm of grey and hurt.

"Annabeth, please believe me when I tell you that I do want this. I want you so bad right now, but I have to be sure you're not doing this because of the alcohol. I don't want to take advantage of you." Percy watched the hurt slowly fade from her eyes to be replaced by the look he saw when he first met her at the club earlier that night. She was thinking of all the possibilities. Her blank look a minute later gave Percy the answer he needed. He sat back to give her space when Annabeth shot up and hooked her arms around his neck.

"Trust me when I say you are definitely not taking advantage of me and besides, haven't you already asked me that question?" Percy smiled before pressing Annabeth back onto his bed, her laughter echoing throughout the room.

~.~.~.~.~.~.

Annabeth woke up to what sounded like someone trying to break down the front door.

"Damn it Percy you had better open this door before I break it down! I know you went off with Annabeth last night and I want to know where the hell she is!" It was Thalia. She groaned until she remembered Percy was just right beside her, however she began to think he was a heavy sleeper considering he hadn't even twitched through all Thalia's banging.

"Perseus Jackson! You have got ten seconds to open the door! One! Two!" Annabeth scrambled to grab the first pieces of clothing she could find. She didn't doubt Thalia wouldn't break down the door when she got to ten—and not a second later.

"Seven! Eight! Nine! Ten!" Annabeth managed to wrench the door open right as Thalia was prepared to kick it down. She paused, startled, until she realized who had opened the door.

"So this is where you ended up." Thalia scanned Annabeth with crossed arms and realized almost immediately what had went down that night between Annabeth and her cousin.

"Usually I would work my way up to teasing you about sleeping with my cousin, but the fact that you have his shirt on and your pants from last night is motivation enough for me just to get right to it!" Annabeth looked down at her attire, turning white when she realized Thalia was being completely honest.

"Oh gods, Thalia I can explain. We left the bar last night, originally just to talk and see the sights, but eventually we ended back here for movie and wine, and I guess—" Thalia cut her off by squeezing Annabeth in a hug. She held her back at arm's length, looking Annabeth over again.

"I'm so proud of you Annabeth! Your first one night stand! I'd ask how it was, but quite honestly I do not want to know anything about my cousin's sex life, especially when it involves my best friend. Let's go and get some coffee and wait, do you even have a hangover? You don't look hung over." Annabeth started to open her mouth again to deny what she had done was a one night stand, but quickly shut it once she realized that was exactly what it had been.

"Aw, I was hoping you would want to stick around and hear every last dirty detail. Why the rush Thal?" Percy was standing in the doorway to the entranceway, the smirk that had drove Annabeth crazy last night on his face. He was shirtless but thankfully had a pair of sweatpants hung low over his hips. He turned his gaze over to Annabeth, the smirk transforming into a genuine smile.

"Were you really going to just leave, Annabeth?"

"I, um…"


	2. II: Failure of Logic

**So far I'm very content with this story. Usually I'm struggling to keep churning out ideas but this one just seems to flow without interruption. I'm also very pleased, and I'm sure you all are too, with how long each chapter is turning out. I've made a goal not to publish any chapters under 2500 words. I absolutely hate reading stories that only have a few hundred words per chapter, so I figured I would make this one extra special by making it lengthy. As of right now I have no idea how long it will be but it will definitely focus on Annabeth's pregnancy. Maybe after she has the child I'll write a sequel of the baby growing up.**

**Happy reading and please don't forget to review, even if it's just a simple a smiley face or an 'excellent'.**

**Don't Think So Much Annabeth  
Chapter II: Failure of Logic**

_One Month Later_

"He's getting concerned because you refuse to return any of his calls or texts. You should just go talk to him already. I doubt he'll care if you're sick." Annabeth groaned from her spot on the bathroom floor, trying to focus on the chill of the wall on her back, and not the creeping nausea she had been fighting off.

"I just don't wanna talk to him right now. I feel like crap and if he finds out, then he's probably going to come over here and try to take care of me." Thalia raised an eyebrow and looked down on Annabeth like she was an idiot.

"What's so bad about having Percy come over and take care of you? You won't have to cook anything; if you get cold you can just snuggle up with him." Annabeth held up her hand to signal Thalia would have to wait a second for her response—if she had opened her mouth she would lost what remained of her breakfast. Annabeth was touched that Thalia was thinking of ways to make her feel better, but her real motives for distancing Percy were unknown to her best friend. After the nausea died down Annabeth managed pull her hair up in a messy bun.

"I just don't wanna see or talk to Percy at the moment. I need to some time to process." Thalia stared at her with a blank look for a minute until something crossed her vision. Her eyes flicked to the side like something caught her attention, but they quickly returned to Annabeth.

"You're pregnant. That's why you're avoiding Percy." Thalia had a smug look on her face before Annabeth could even look up at her friend in shock.

"What the hell would make you even think that Thalia? I've just got a bug or something."

"Liar."

"I am not lying!"

"Yeah you are. I'm not stupid Annabeth." Annabeth put her head in her hands and blew a raspberry into the air.

"Could have fooled me—ouch!" Thalia pinched the tender spot behind Annabeth's arm to get her to stop talking. She started to pace back and forth leisurely, hands behind her back as she thought.

"So I know you two haven't done anything since that night, which was one month ago? Yeah, one month ago which means you're around one month pregnant." She stopped walking for a second to look at Annabeth, who was lightly banging her head on the wall behind her.

"How long have you known?"

"I told you, I'm not pregnant." Annabeth rolled her eyes before closing them again.

"I'm going to ask one more time before I have to force it out of you. How long have you known?"

"I'm not pr—" Annabeth was cut off by something hitting her in the face. She glared at Thalia, who was looking smug again, before looking down to the object now lying in her lap. A home pregnancy test box. Annabeth sighed and couldn't help but wonder what the hell her best friend was doing digging around in her trash.

"One week."

"And you didn't tell me? What the hell Annabeth!" The wall that Annabeth had been steadily building since that terrifying night when she first confirmed she was pregnant shattered into a million pieces.

"I'm sorry Thalia, but I'm scared out of my mind right now!" Annabeth couldn't help the single tear that slid down her face. Thalia slid down the wall to sit beside her and embraced her friend the best she could.

"I'm so scared. What am I supposed to do with a living, breathing human being? I'm only twenty-one and still trying to make a name for myself. This is what happens when I don't think of the most logical solution! I didn't think for one night, one night! And now I'm knocked up. I had this perfect plan in mind. I was going to work hard on my career, find my perfect guy, get married, and then have a child. In all honesty I wasn't even concerned about finding a guy; just one of those if it happened I would be happy, if not no big type deals. Everything else can be solved logically or fixed, but this can't be fixed. There is no fix for this fucking situation Thalia!" She forced herself to slow her erratic breathing, remembering reading something about stress being bad for the baby.

"Well there technically is a way to undo this, but I already know what—"

"No."

"That's what I thought. When are you gonna tell him?" Annabeth shook her head, pressing her palms to her eyes in a futile attempt to staunch the now steady flow of tears. She waited a while before speaking, her voice soft and unsure.

"I'm not sure. How do you tell someone you've known for one month that you're carrying his child? What if he decides I'm not worth the pain of it all?"

"You're in deep. You love him, don't you?" Annabeth burst out crying again, this time heavy sobs showing her inner pain and turmoil. Annabeth wasn't sure what exactly she felt towards the green eyed man who had been thrust into her life, but she knew that she had never felt such a connection with someone else. She knew she definitely liked him and didn't want to mess up how things were going.

They had been out on a couple of other dates through the past month, at least once a week and sometimes as often as three times. One time Annabeth had to cancel due to a sudden small scale request on a wealthy family's home, but Percy showed up with Thai food take out and kept Annabeth company while she worked. She genuinely liked talking and hanging out with him, and didn't feel like she had to force herself into anything.

"I've never met someone like him, Thalia. I don't know what exactly I feel towards him, but Percy's not just another stupid boy who thinks I'm a push over. He gets my need to keep learning new things, how much I love my job, he gets everything! Did he tell you how we met in the club?" Thalia shook her head no, her curiosity peaking.

"Percy had seen us hanging out before he actually met me. He said I was intriguing because I was so different from you, so when he overheard you telling someone we would be at the club he decided he would show up so he could maybe meet me. It's funny how both of you neglected to tell me you were cousins until Percy and I were sitting on the roof." Thalia shrugged her shoulders and muttered how she doesn't often associate herself with her dorky cousin.

"So in essence he stalked you to the club and then just randomly asked you to leave with him. That screams one night stand to me."

"Well, usually yes. Before we left he promised he just wanted to talk and have some regular fun. I was, uh, actually the one to push for, well, _it_. He actually kept checking with me throughout the evening to see if I was comfortable with everything, making sure I wasn't shit faced and only pushing because I had been drinking."

"Yep, you've got it bad Annabeth. If it makes you feel better, I don't think Percy will run away from this. I've known the seaweed brain since we were just little kids, and he's never done anything to make me think he would abandon his baby mama." Annabeth took in a shuddered breath, trying to decide the best time to tell Percy. She knew he had to find out sometime; if she just up and left he would probably come looking for her and Annabeth would feel a constant sense of guilt. If she waited much longer then she ran the risk of him getting angry or finding out by accident before she could explain. Chances were he would already get angry because, well, who wanted a surprise pregnancy one month after knowing someone?

"Soon. I'll tell him soon."

~.~.~.~.~.~.

_One Week Later_

"Annabeth? Please come and open the door, I know you're home." Annabeth buried her head deeper in the mountain of blankets she had cocooned herself in, trying to block out the insistent noise of Percy's knocking. On some level she wanted to get up and let Percy in her apartment, but she honestly didn't think she could manage to get up on her feet. Two days after her confession to Thalia her stomach decided it wanted to reject any and all foods she tried to eat. Thankfully she could keep water down, but that was it.

"I'm sorry Annabeth, but I'm coming in." She heard a key being inserted into the lock, and silently cursed Thalia; she knew her best friend had gone and made a duplicate of her key to give to Percy. Annabeth wiggled deeper into the blankets to avoid him seeing her face. She knew she looked horrible and preferred Percy didn't see her in such a state. Annabeth was used to always looking polished and professional in front of everyone (with the exception of Thalia), so the thought of Percy seeing her like this didn't sit well. She listened as the door slowly creaked open, his soft footsteps moving forward a little so he could shut the door and lock it back.

"Annabeth? I wanted to check on you. I hadn't heard from you for almost two weeks, and when Thalia said she hadn't heard from you for a few days I got worried." She was touched by his concern, but her own concern for the secret she was hiding seemed to override anything he could say. She wriggled a little bit to make sure the blankets were secure when he sat down in the floor by her head.

"Hey, you okay?" His voice was soft and laced with the concern he had shown earlier. Annabeth started to cry silently, feeling guilty for keeping something so big from Percy and cursing her hormones simultaneously. Percy heard her sniffle and knew she needed help and comfort whether she wanted it or not.

"Oh Annabeth…" She heard Percy get off the floor, then felt his arms slide under the mound of blankets surrounding her. She groaned lowly at the movement, trying not to focus on the food wanting to come back up. She felt herself be slowly turned around and then settled back down, but not on the couch. Annabeth could feel Percy's arms gently wrapped around to support her, his warm chest surprisingly comfortable. When he began to tug the blankets covering her head down, she was quick to grab a handful to secure another blanket in its place. He seemed to get the message, as he stopped trying to pull the blanket down from Annabeth's face—or so she thought.

About five minutes after Percy had placed her in his lap she finally began to relax, which did not go unnoticed by Percy. He quickly grabbed the blanket again and gently yanked. When Annabeth's pale and sad face came into view, he couldn't restrain the gasp that had escaped. Her normal vibrant grey eyes had dulled to a flat, depressing shade, and her usual tanned glow had been replaced with a concerning paleness. Her hair was still damp from her morning shower due to it being pulled up into a half messy bun, something he had never seen her do before. Annabeth winced at the sudden light, but thankfully didn't feel the nausea she had become so accustomed to.

"Annabeth, you look like you haven't eaten for a while. When's the last time you actually ate food and kept it down?" Starting to feel dizzy, Annabeth just sighed and leaned her head on Percy again. He rubbed a hand up and down her arm, and even through the blanket she could still feel the warmth of his gesture.

"Three days?" Her voice came out raw and scratchy like she had swallowed a cactus. They both winced at the horrid sound, but Percy only grew more concerned.

"Annabeth! Why didn't you call me or Thalia to take you to the doctor? Going this long without any foods or liquid is dangerous." Annabeth felt like crap and the guilt of waiting a full two weeks since finding out she was pregnant without telling Percy was killing her. Before she could stop them, tears started to stream down her face, a soft cry of pain echoing in the room. Percy's heart broke at the sight of the girl in front of him. He had always seen Annabeth polished to perfection, able to handle whatever life could possibly throw at her. Now all of her defenses had crashed down allowing him a clear view into how she was really feeling. Pulling the tie out of her hair to stroke her tangled curls, Percy let her bury her face against him and simply whispered things he hoped would make her feel better. Eventually Annabeth had stopped crying again, and spoke quietly.

"I'm sorry Percy."

"It's okay Annabeth, you're gonna be okay. I know you probably don't feel up to it, but we need to get some fluids into you, okay?"

"No, I don't need any water. I've been able to keep water down, just not anything else." Percy breathed a sigh of relief. His worst fear had been she would get dehydrated, but since she could still keep down water his fear for the blonde architect faded slightly.

"That's good. You still need to eat something though. Anything sound good to you like some jello, crackers, cinnamon toast, or scrambled eggs?" Annabeth perked up at the sound of cinnamon toast.

"Cinnamon toast? I didn't know you could eat that when you're sick. Come to think of it I don't think I've ever actually eaten cinnamon toast before." Percy chuckled and stood up with Annabeth still wrapped in her cocoon of blankets. After placing her on a stool, he went over to pop a couple pieces of bread in the toaster.

"Yup. When I would get sick as a kid, my mom would always fix me cinnamon toast to eat. Never have I not been able to keep cinnamon toast down, even if I couldn't keep jello down. Hopefully this will work for you."

"I tried eating those other things, but they never sat very well. I hope this works too." The now toasted bread popped, and made Percy start much to her amusement. He stuck his tongue out at her in a childish manner before turning back around to put the butter and cinnamon sugar on the toast. He sat the plate in front of her with only one slice on it, ready to give her more if she could keep the first slice down. As Annabeth bit into it, she couldn't help but moan out loud. She savored the bite as she chewed, and was delighted when her stomach didn't kick up a fuss a few minutes later.

"Oh my gods Percy, when I meet your mother I need to thank her for feeding you this." Percy looked delighted and relieved to see Annabeth enjoying the simple dish so much. The color was already returning to her face, the blankets slowly slipping down from her shoulders. She looked at him from across the island with brighter grey eyes.

"Thank you Percy. I feel so much better now than I have in a week."

"Wish I would have forced my way in sooner?" Annabeth nodded and laughed, finishing of her second piece of cinnamon toast. She thought about how natural it felt to be around Percy, picturing them living together without realizing it. That train of thought quickly shut down before it could progress much farther. Percy watched the smile slip from her face, instantly curious about the sudden mood change.

"Annabeth, are you still doing okay?" She shook her head to clear her mind before flashing a small smile at Percy.

"Yes, I'm fine. Just wishing I would have called you over here a couple of days ago. It was irresponsible of me to let myself become that sick." She did honestly wish she had called Percy over rather than trying to keep him away. She had someone else to think of now, and should have made getting nutrients her first priority—not fantasizing the different ways she should tell Percy she was pregnant in the first place. She could have seriously hurt her baby by refusing to accept help from him.

"Do you feel up to a movie night? I brought a few I remember you mentioning you liked or wanted to see." She nodded before her mind could override and talk her out of enjoying this time with Percy. She was shocked to see he had even brought a few of her favorite Studio Ghibli movies, like Howl's Moving Castle.

"Are you seriously willing to watch Howl's Moving Castle with me?"

"Yup." He gently grabbed her waist to pull her down onto the spacious couch with him.

They cuddled on the couch as they went through a handful of movies, Annabeth eventually getting too sleepy to stay awake any longer on the sixth one. Percy watched as she yawned, then blinked rapidly in an attempt to stave off going to sleep.

"Come on sleepy head, you need to go to bed." Annabeth groaned at the thought of getting up, but the thought of her nice, warm, comfy bed made her ignore it. Percy ended up carrying her to her bed, gently dropping her on it before pulling the covers up to her neck. He placed a kiss on her temple, but when he started to get up to leave, Annabeth grabbed his arm and shot him a pleading look. She wasn't sure why she wanted him to stay so bad; maybe she wanted to spend as much time with Percy before everything hit the fan.

"Please Percy?" Knowing he couldn't resist he slipped out of his clothes so he was only wearing his boxers and shirt then slipped under the covers to wrap his arms around her. Annabeth hummed softly in contentment, happy she knew someone cared enough about her to ignore her attempts to drive them away and take care of her anyway. Percy looked down on her, saying what was on his mind without a second thought.

"I love you Annabeth." Her heart stopped for a second when he spoke. Warmth and happiness started to bloom inside of her, the thought that someone aside from her real mother could actually love her, until she remembered.

Annabeth burst out crying for the second time that day.

**Semi-cliffhanger! Again, please don't forget to review. I don't demand reviews for chapters however they definitely do effect my motivation for writing.**

**Thank you for reading!**


	3. III: Emotional Overload

**Sorry for the long wait, but I couldn't seem to write anything worthy of posting and I wasn't just going to throw something up. Thankfully last night inspiration struck and I'm truckin on along. **

**Don't Think So Much Annabeth  
Chapter III: Emotional Overload**

"I love you Annabeth." Her heart stopped for a second when he spoke. Warmth and happiness started to bloom inside, the thought that someone aside from her real mother could actually love her, until she remembered.

Annabeth burst out crying for the second time that day.

"I—I'm so sorry Percy!" Before Percy could even begin to register what had just happened, Annabeth rolled over and practically dove on him and wrapped her arms around his neck. Percy just stroked Annabeth's hair like he had done earlier, letting her get it out of her system and calm down before even attempting to talk to her.

"Annabeth, I don't understand. What are you sorry for?" She started crying harder, and shaking her head rapidly. Percy sat them up, holding Annabeth's face to make her look at him. Her eyes were puffy and red-rimmed, the trail of tears reflecting the moonlight shining in through the curtains. Percy's heart broke at the sight. Annabeth was usually so strong, so confident in herself and everything she did reflected it. But now she was clearly afraid, openly crying, and chewing on her lip in nervousness.

"Do you promise not to get angry?" Percy's eyes widened almost imperceptibly at Annabeth's sudden question.

"Okay, yes, I promise." Her tense posture relaxed slightly.

"Do you remember one month ago? I mean, of course you remember one month ago, but do you remember what happened the one night? I'm sorry I know you do remember a night but—" Percy kissed Annabeth to quiet her rambling and pulled her so she was sitting on his lap leaning against him.

"I know what you mean," he chuckled, "and I could never forget." Her cheeks flushed crimson but quickly paled again.

"Well, I know we took certain precautions, but I'm not sure they worked very well per say…" His head tilted to the side in question, silently urging her to further explain.

"Something important must have broken that night and neither of us noticed." Percy still looked lost.

"Do you understand what I'm trying to tell you Percy?" He thought for another minute and then shook his head.

"I don't remember breaking anything. I know we almost knocked the lamp off of the end table in the foyer but we didn't break it." Annabeth almost smiled at Percy's obliviousness, but blew out a breath of frustration instead.

"Percy, please try and think harder." Another few minutes passed before he shook his head again.

"Sorry Annabeth but I honestly have no clue what you're trying to say." Annabeth usually thought it was really cute when Percy was confused like this, but now she was just growing more and more frustrated. She burst before she could stop it.

"You seaweed brain the condom broke! I'm pregnant!" She gasped and covered her mouth as soon as it slipped out.

"Hey only Thalia's ever called me seaweed brain, wait what?!" Annabeth quietly whispered it again and bit her lip. They sat there in silence for a couple minutes, Annabeth fiddling with her hands and Percy staring at the bed sheets. She was mentally preparing herself for any scenario that Percy could throw at her: anger, throwing things, walking out, telling her off—everything except what he actually did, and effectively flooring her.

"I am so sorry Annabeth. Are... are you angry with me?" Annabeth's head shot up to see Percy looking like a scolded puppy who chewed up the furniture. Before she knew it she was laughing softly while tears ran in a steady stream down her face. Percy just sat there, looking at Annabeth in pure confusion. He had knocked up this gorgeous, brilliant girl who had a bright future as an architect ahead of her, and she was laughing.

"Annabeth?" She was smiling sadly as she looked up, brushing the tears off of her face before shifting slightly to wrap her arms around Percy and buried her head in his neck.

"No Percy, I'm not angry. If anything I thought you would have been angry at me, not the other way around." His arms snaked around her waist as he pulled her even closer, secretly thankful she wasn't angry despite having every reason to be.

"How could I be mad? I mean it does take two people to make a baby, and well, I'm obviously one of those two people involved. Why did you think I'd be mad?" Annabeth bit her lip as she contemplated telling Percy her reasoning for believing the worst thing could happen right off the bat. She'd only told two people before, Thalia and Luke, and telling Luke hadn't been the greatest idea she'd ever had. Percy could see she was struggling to tell him something, so he shifted them back on the bed and pulled Annabeth close, back to chest, to let her know she could go ahead.

"My parents weren't married when Mom got pregnant with me. She thought Dad would be happy to have a child, but he wasn't. He never wanted me, and he made that very clear when I was very little." It wasn't the whole story behind Annabeth's parents and childhood, but the short anecdote would provide plenty insight as to why she was afraid Percy would be angry.

"That's horrible. I'm sorry Annabeth." He nuzzled her neck and tightened his hold on her trying to make her feel safe, to make her feel the love he felt for her. He wanted to make sure she knew she was wanted.

"It's fine, I'm good now. I accepted it a long time ago." Percy decided it was best to distract her from that path of thought and splayed a hand on her stomach.

"So a baby, huh? When did you find out?" Percy felt Annabeth tense and pressed a few kisses on her neck, letting her know he wouldn't get angry.

"Two weeks ago. Thalia found out about a week ago, by digging through my garbage of all ways." They both shared a laugh over that, the awkward tension dissolving slightly.

"Have you been sick with the flu or something or have you just been having morning sickness?"

"I think it's just been really bad morning sickness, but it just started about five days ago." Percy hated the thought of Annabeth being so sick she couldn't eat, and it was mostly his fault. Right now she was still pale looking, presumably from the lack of food for the last several days, but Percy suspected it may be caused by all the stress she was under too. He wanted to move Annabeth in with him right then and there, but he knew she would fight against it with a passion.

"I don't like how sick you are Annabeth. Why didn't you go to the doctor earlier when you found out you were pregnant? Maybe they could have done something to help ease the morning sickness." Percy watched as Annabeth bit her lip, and waited for her reasoning.

"Well, when I was about four or so, Dad remarried a woman who also had a doctorate but in pediatrics. She works at the Women and Children's hospital and I knew that's where they would refer me. I don't want to give her anything to gloat about since she hates me in the first place, and I could only imagine the ammo she'd gain from this situation." Annabeth muttered the last part, clear hate ringing through her voice. Percy pulled her closer, and decided to screw waiting. He felt very protective of this woman, despite only knowing her for little over a month, and hated the thought of her having to deal with anything like that.

"Annabeth, I'm going to suggest something, and I want you to honestly consider it. Promise me you'll consider it?" She turned so that they were facing each other, while his arms were still wrapped tightly around her, and nodded.

"My first proposition is that you move in with me." Annabeth opened her mouth to immediately start her argument but was cut off by Percy kissing her. It was the most effective way to quiet her when she was beginning a rant.

"You promised." She bit her lip and looked anywhere but Percy's face. She managed to slowly push all preconceived arguments out of her thoughts, and decided to go down the questioning route.

"Why do you want me to move in?"

"So I can take care of you and the baby. Seeing you so sick and weak today scared me Annabeth, and I know I could be there for both of you more if you just lived with me. I'm also not exactly opposed to sharing a bed with you either." A small smirk graced his face and Annabeth couldn't help but let out a short laugh.

"Okay, those are a few good points, but what about your job? I don't wanna interfere with your career. What was it you said you did again? Something to do with business?" Percy raked his free hand through his hair and slowly let out a breath of air.

"Interfere with my job? Annabeth I've caused one of the biggest job interferences possible on your end. As for my job, I knew this would bite me in the ass. I actually didn't say exactly what I did, I just mentioned I was in the business world. Have you heard of Poseidon Industries?" Annabeth had to rack her brains for a second.

"The over-sea shipping company that also does environmental work and helps protect sea life?" Percy nodded.

"That's my Dad's company. I manage the work of the environmentalist and help Dad decide possible future projects. I can work from home or go into the office building, my choice." Annabeth couldn't lie and say she wasn't impressed with Percy's line of work. She had originally thought he was going to be a paper pusher or something along the lines of that.

"The work you do is amazing Percy. Why didn't you want to tell me that night on the roof?"

"Well most girls are either only interested in my money or think what I do is stupid. I really thought we had a connection that night and I didn't want to risk ruining it." Annabeth started to say something to reassure him they certainly did have a connection that night and she wouldn't have went after his money or thought it was dumb, but then remembered the real matter at hand.

"So if I moved in with you, you would just work from home?" Despite it being a question, it came out sounding more like a statement.

"Yes. I could cook for you and if you wanted I could take you to another doctor's office so your stepmom wouldn't know a thing." Annabeth started biting her lip again, and Percy knew she was honestly trying to think it through.

"But Percy, we've only known each other for a little over a month. For all you know this baby might not even be yours, and I could just be trying to scam you for money."

"I know you're not like that Annabeth, and I know that if you needed money you could get it easy enough with one of your house designs. Do I really need to say it?"

"Say what?"

"Don't think so much Annabeth. Please move in with me? I want, no need to be able to protect you and my child." Annabeth's heart warmed when Percy said 'my child' but she was still skeptical about moving in with him. What would others think about her suddenly moving in with a man they had never seen her with until a month ago? What if her father and stepmother found out she was pregnant and not married?

"Percy, I just don't know if I'm ready for this or even able to think clearly at the moment."

"Annabeth, did you enjoy tonight?" She nodded yes.

"Did you enjoy the fact that I stayed when you asked me to?" Another nod.

"What about when I said that I loved you? How did that make you feel?" She started to say that it had made her feel awful, but that was because he still didn't know about the baby yet. How did she feel? Thinking hard she remember the warmth and happiness that filled her before reality bitch slapped her back into the sanity corner.

"I was… happy. I couldn't believe someone who wasn't my mother actually could love me…" Percy gently tilted her face up so that he could look directly into her shimmering grey eyes.

"I can make you feel like that everyday Annabeth. So what's stopping you from saying yes?" She broke out of Percy's hold and lay on her back, both hands buried into the mass of blonde.

"I don't know, Percy. I guess I just don't want to be judged. I was judged for everything by my Dad and Stepmom growing up and I'm afraid of that again." Percy grabbed her again and pulled her close.

"Who cares what others say or think about you? I love you, and I know Thalia has never kept a friend for more than a month before she met you so she must like you a lot too. Besides, wouldn't you like to rub that happiness in all of those people's faces who want to see you unhappy?" Annabeth giggled again, thankful for Percy's sense of humor and ability to infuse it into serious conversations in just the right way.

"If I say yes?"

"You and my offspring will be sleeping happily in my bed tomorrow night. Easy as that."

"Alright, fine. I'll move in with you." The grin that plastered itself on Percy's face could have lit up New York's Time Square. He hugged Annabeth to him tightly, while being mindful of keeping pressure off of her stomach.

"Oh Annabeth! Thank you for agreeing. Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you!" She giggled again at Percy's enthusiasm and surprisingly, not one twinge of regret or second thoughts even dared enter her mind.

"Now you said 'my first proposition' earlier. What's the second?" Percy ran his hand through his unruly hair yet again in nervousness.

"Ah, well, I didn't think I would even get to this point. I honestly thought you were going to fight me tooth and nail about moving in with me." Annabeth raised an eyebrow and smiled.

"I decided to be nice and only fight fair. So what did you have in mind, Percy?"

"Promise you'll give this one some thought too, and not hit me or anything?" Annabeth was a bit confused by the last part he tacked on, but nodded in consent anyway.

"Marry me."

**Don't freak out about how fast things are moving, it all has a part in the story line. And I know the characters are slightly tweaked in personality, but you have to keep in mind they are 21, thus more mature then in the books.**

**Please review, even if it's just a simple smiley face to show you enjoyed my writing.**


	4. IV: The Confrontation

**Don't Think So Much Annabeth  
Chapter IV: The Confrontation**

"Marry me."

"What?" Her question came out softly, barely audible to Annabeth or Percy. Percy already knew that Annabeth was more than likely going to say no, but he had to ask on the slim chance she would say yes. He already loved her, and was happy to start a family with her even if he felt crushing guilt for knocking her career way off of its intended path. He also got the distinct feeling that if her father or stepmother ever found out, it wouldn't be good. From what he gathered about the ammo comment, Annabeth being pregnant and unmarried would be opening her up to an unending amount of criticism from her family.

"Will you marry me?" She sucked in a breath as she closed her eyes, counting to twenty before opening them again. World War III was going on inside of Annabeth's head, logic and reason fighting with her desires. She immediately wanted to tell him no, but she did promise to consider his earlier question so she assumed that would apply to this one as well.

"Percy… I just can't. Oh no no no, not because of the reason you think." She was quick to rectify herself when she saw the hurt and disappointment in his green eyes. Sitting up on her elbow she backed away from Percy slightly so she could look at all of him.

"Give me a good reason, and I'll drop it."

"We've only known each other for little over a month."

"That's not a good excuse. Try again."

"Wouldn't people talk if we were engaged and married so suddenly?"

"What's the worst they could do, start a pregnancy rumor? We both know I don't care what other people think of me, just you." Annabeth couldn't help but laugh at the pregnancy rumor thing— leave it to Percy to make light of something so serious in a way that would actually make her laugh.

"What if we get married and live together, and find out we hate one another. What if you get irritated with my blueprints all over the place? What if you think something I do is really weird and decide you can't handle it?"

"Still not good enough."

"Do you really want to know the truth Percy? Why I am terrified of all of this and how fast it's moving? Growing up I had this friend named Luke. In high school we became more than friends and started dating, and it was amazing at first; dates to the movies, he brought me flowers all the time, and he made me feel like nothing was wrong with my life despite still living with my Dad and Stepmother.

"Then, he just… changed. He never wanted to go out, just stay at his house all the time, he would become extremely jealous of anyone I talked to, and eventually he started hitting me when I would try to stand up for myself. My freshman year in college I met Thalia, and when she found out what Luke was doing to me she took matters into her own hands. I'm terrified of getting into another relationship like that one. I know you're different Percy, I really do, and it's just hard." Percy wanted to go find that Luke fellow and give him a piece of his mind, but right now he knew Annabeth needed him and his reassurance.

"Okay. I won't push." Percy pulled Annabeth close to him again, and settled down into the fluffy covers for the night.

~.~.~.~.~.~.

_Three Weeks Later (Five Weeks)_

Annabeth's blood curdling scream and Thalia's laughter had Percy running as fast as he could from the kitchen to the master bathroom. When he skidded around the corner, he couldn't quite make out what was happening in front of him. Thalia was on the floor clutching at her sides while she laughed, and Annabeth was literally perched on top of the counter beside the shower hyperventilating and pointing at something in the area of the Jacuzzi at the other end of the bathroom.

"Get it, get it, get it!" Percy stepped over his rambunctious cousin to inspect the area in question. A small black spider was harmlessly sitting on one of the jets, not even attempting to run when he got close to it. He just grabbed a tissue from the box sitting on the counter, squished it, and threw it in the garbage. He felt bad for killing it when it wasn't even doing anything, but he knew Annabeth would just continue to panic and start thinking the spider would remember and plot to find her again. Thalia was finally calming down, wiping her eyes, taking deep breaths, and leaning against the deep blue wall. Annabeth crouched down in her spot while still looking suspiciously at the trash can the spider had been disposed in.

"Did you kill it?" Percy walked over to Annabeth and picked her up off of the counter so that he was holding her bridal style.

"Yes."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Then put me down." Percy shook his head and gently put Annabeth back down, as requested. She finished releasing the hair falling out of her tie and fixed it back atop her head. The towels she had been folding and putting onto the ornate silver rack were scattered around the room, where Annabeth had threw them in the air upon discovering the spider. She was walking around picking back up the towels to fold and put on the rack.

"You're lucky I just mopped the floor in here otherwise I would have had to wash a whole load of towels all over again." Annabeth grumbled, putting the last few in their place. She turned around to face Thalia, putting her hands on her hips to show she wasn't amused by her antics.

"And you, why didn't you help me and kill it?" Thalia just shrugged, replying that you only live once and she wanted to see Annabeth freak out about spiders as much as possible in her life time, which was met by Annabeth nailing her in the face with a towel.

"Okay break it up you two. Thalia, no tormenting the woman carrying my child and also cleaning the condo and Annabeth, no smacking my cousin with towels even if she deserves it." Annabeth giggled and Thalia threw the towel right back in Percy's face before casually walking out, mentioning she had somewhere to be. Percy blew out a breath of air before waltzing over to Annabeth and wrapping his arms around her waist, his hands gently resting on her barely-there bump.

"So how's my baby and my baby momma?" Annabeth wanted to smack him for calling her his baby momma, but was too content with Percy's happy attitude to even put up a fight.

"Baby's good, baby momma is tired but good." As the past few weeks went by Annabeth had slowly began to feel more tired and easily exhausted much to her frustration. She used to be able to stay up until one in the morning working on a new house design or just thinking of possible projects, but now she was passing out around nine—barely enough time to start on anything considering she didn't usually wake up until eight thirty or so.

She normally didn't sleep too heavily due to the almost constant nausea she still got in random bouts. Percy kept his word and had taken, or rather dragged, Annabeth to another doctor an hour and a half away from the condo, where she was told that the morning sickness wasn't severe and it would let up after her first trimester ended. Percy was skeptical but Annabeth decided the doctor knew what she was doing and pushed it out of her mind for the time being.

"Is there anything at all I can do to help? Anything at all, just name it." Annabeth tapped her chin in thought while leaning back against him.

"You could fumigate for spiders."

"Okay, anything except fumigation. I can compromise with a weekly spider check by yours truly."

"Bi-daily and you've got a deal." Percy smiled and wondered how in the world he ended up with a genius girl who was afraid of spiders—but he wouldn't trade her for all the blue colored foods in the world.

"Okay, bi-daily spider check. Anything else?"

"No, that's it." Percy kissed the top of Annabeth's head and swooped her into the kitchen to finishing fixing their lunch.

That night Percy watched as the blankets rose and fell with Annabeth's breathing, his concern growing for her by the day. Every day the circles under her eyes would darken by a shade, she became slightly more tired than the day before, and despite her efforts to hide it from him her morning sickness hadn't let up a bit and seemed to be getting worse. She would never admit any of this to him though, because she still felt like her moving in was an intrusion on his life and didn't want to bother him with anything else.

Like any other guy he wasn't a mind reader and could only judge how Annabeth really was feeling when she didn't know he was watching her. Her fatigue was interfering with her architecture projects she did for fun, and he knew that for a woman to feel that tired so soon in the pregnancy wasn't a good thing. Somehow, just somehow, he had to find a way to show her he loved her with all of his heart and was willing to bend to her will with the snap of her fingers.

~.~.~.~.~.~.

_One Month Later (10 Weeks)_

"Where are we going?" Percy had Annabeth's hand tightly in his, leading her down one of the crowded sidewalks of New York. She had been skeptical of going out, but Percy had promised that where they were going would help her. How it would help her he wouldn't say, but she wasn't exactly in any position to argue with him (she did try to get out of going anywhere by claiming her shirts were too tight to fit her properly anymore, but he called her bluff and told her it wasn't the 90's anymore and she didn't have to hide her barely even visible small bump).

"You'll see when we get there. It's a surprise." Annabeth grumbled the rest of the way there, complaining that she usually didn't like surprises and believed in instant gratification except when it came to architecture. Percy just pulled her closer and put his arm around her smiling. About ten minutes later they finally stopped, unknown to Annabeth who was still grumbling to herself.

"Alright, you can stop your complaining now. We're here." Annabeth started to snap back that she wasn't complaining until she saw the small shop they were standing in front of.

"A Dippin' Dots?"

"Hold your skepticism, and follow me." He sat Annabeth down at one of the tables close to the counter and disappeared behind the employee's only door. A few minutes later he came back out with a grin on his face, followed by a man popping up behind the counter with the same grin. He was tall, so tall in fact his head almost hit the ceiling, with a head of longer, unruly brown hair.

"Annabeth, this is my cousin Tyson. Tyson, this is the famous Annabeth." She blushed slightly at Percy's words, but stood up to shake Tyson's hand. His grip was very strong which added to his intimidation factor, however Annabeth could immediately tell he was like a gentle giant.

"It's nice to meet you Annabeth. Percy's told me so much about you." She blushed again, but her attention was quickly caught by something sitting on the station behind Tyson. Percy nodded at Tyson to go ahead and grab it.

"What is that delicious looking substance in the cup?" Annabeth was practically drooling as Tyson set it in front of her and handed her a spoon. Percy motioned for her to take a bite, and she had to refrain from moaning out loud.

"You like?" She shoved another spoon-full in her mouth and nodded rapidly. Percy and Tyson both grinned at her reaction, happy she liked their newest creation.

"It's dark blue colored, but it tastes like vanilla with a hint of blueberries… but it mixes well…" She took another large bite.

"It's vanilla and blueberry flavored; Percy called me with the idea about a month ago, and I finally got a mixture that tasted amazing with just the right amount of blueberry so I called him right away. I told him he should name it since it was his idea, and he came up with 'Annabeth's Delight'." Annabeth almost spit out her dots but quickly swallowed them— she'd have to smack herself if she wasted something so delicious.

"You named it after me?" Percy ran his hand through his hair and nodded.

"You were craving a lot of blue things, especially with a hint of blueberry taste, and I wanted to help ease that craving. The whole top shelf in the freezer is stocked with these things, and you can get a free one at any stand in the nation if you show them your ID." Annabeth couldn't help the tears that started to flow down her face, as she flung herself at Percy to hug him.

"This is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me." She choked out a laugh at her unintended pun, and kissed Percy.

"Annabeth, why are you crying?" Tyson's timid voice brought her back and she let out another short laugh as she wiped the tears from her face.

"Sorry Tyson, it's the baby hormones. They're making me a little more emotional than usual."

"Baby hormones?" Annabeth's blood drained out of her face, as she slowly turned around. Her Stepmother was standing in the doorway of the shop, holding her twin Stepbrother's hands. Her eyes immediately cast down towards Annabeth's stomach, where she and Percy both knew the small bump was definitely visible to her scrutinizing eyes.

"Shit…"


	5. V: Karolyn vs Annabeth

**Don't Think So Much Annabeth  
Chapter V: Karolyn vs Annabeth**

"Shit…"

"Beth! Watch your language young lady, and what is this about a pregnancy?" Her Stepmother's scrutinizing gaze sent chills down not only Annabeth but also Percy. He could immediately tell he could not and would never like this woman, but he had to try and at least act civil for Annabeth's sake.

"Excuse me but I am not a little girl anymore, nor do I live under your roof so I don't have to listen to you, and why should I tell you anything?" She crossed her arms stubbornly and glared at her Stepmother. Annabeth was shocked by her own actions, but simply shrugged it off and blamed it on the baby hormones. When she was little and her Stepmother would confront her, she wouldn't have dreamt of talking back or doing anything a good child shouldn't. She was the perfect child, with perfect grades and the perfect attitude to match it. However now she was pregnant and feeling the hormones full force. At least she had on a nice pair of jeans, white button-up shirt, and her hair was nothing but perfect curls and no frizz.

Her Stepmother began to open her mouth while turning to the young boys behind her when Percy quickly and subtly grabbed Annabeth's left hand, quickly slipped a ring on her fourth finger. Annabeth was confused momentarily but quickly caught onto what Percy was trying to do. She internally smiled at his sly move and vowed to berate him for carrying around the ring after this situation was blown over.

"Boys, go back out to the car with your father. I'll bring out your ice cream when I'm finished talking with Beth." The twins shuffled out of the shop, looking nervously at each other before bolting for the car. They had seen their mother angry before and did not want to even be around the person on the receiving end. Once the car doors had firmly shut, she turned back around to glare at Annabeth and Percy.

"I knew it. I knew it! I knew you would turn out to be just like your tramp of a mother. She went and got herself knocked up on purpose to trap poor Fredrick. Not married and trapping a young man with some scheme you've cooked up in that little blonde head of yours." Percy tightened his grip on Annabeth's arm for fear that she would lunge at the woman berating her (and in all honesty she was keeping him grounded as well).

He usually would have been more than happy to let Annabeth beat the crap out of someone like this, but he had to think about the little life residing in her. The change in this woman the moment her sons had walked out the door was astounding, but he knew without a doubt Annabeth hadn't been exaggerating anything concerning her family.

"Excuse me Mrs. Chase but we are married and have been for the past six months." The lie slipped easily out of Percy's mouth. Annabeth was again pleasantly surprised at his ability to stay calm in such a situation, and started to quickly think ahead and plan how this conversation would end. Her Stepmother would probably scoff in disbelief, they would exchange some words to make her believe them, she would act offended that she wasn't notified of the engagement or the marriage, and Annabeth would probably snap at that point and tell her everything she thought about her supposed family she had been thinking since the day her father remarried.

"I can hardly believe that poor excuse for a lie."

"It's not a lie." Annabeth thrust her hand out for her mother to see the ring sitting on her finger. She barely contained the look of surprise on her face at the beauty of the craft sitting on her ring finger. It was white gold with a swirl of thin white gold strips woven intricately to meet in the middle, holding an amazing gorgeous diamond with more miniature diamond adorning the adjoining strips. Both took pleasure when Annabeth's Stepmother's eyes widened at the sight of the ring. She cleared her throat and tried to regain her composure before continuing.

"Where is the wedding band? All I see is this, well, I guess you could exaggerate it to be an engagement ring." Annabeth rolled her eyes at the attempted insult and smoothly came up with another lie to cover the missing band.

"Well unfortunately I've had a bit of swelling recently, and the ring just wasn't comfortably fitting at the moment. I felt it was best to store it for the time being. My engagement ring is half a size bigger and stills fits nicely." Her Stepmother stood straighter and crossed her arms, attempting to appear more confident than she really was before the couple before her. She looked at Percy, eyeing him from the bottom up. Annabeth was momentarily concerned that her sorry excuse for a Stepmom was searching for a ring on his finger as well.

"Your father and I are disappointed we were not contacted concerning an engagement or to attend a wedding party." The conversation was now turning in the direction Annabeth had predicted. However now that some of the adrenaline was wearing off from when her mother had first come in, Annabeth wasn't sure she could tell off her Stepmother like she had planned. Percy let go of her arm and instead wrapped an arm around her waist, giving a reassuring look to the woman who had stolen his heart. He knew she needed to get what she had been feeling since she was little off of her chest, and right now seemed the opportune moment to do it.

"Oh I didn't know I was actually wanted as a member of the family anymore. Excuse me for assuming a theory supported by my time living in that awful house with you and Fredrick."

"Beth, I haven't the slightest idea of what you are speaking about, and refer to your father as 'Father' not his name."

"Stop calling me Beth! My name is Annabeth, and you shall address me as such." Percy had noticed Annabeth slowly falling into a more pronounced and sophisticated way of speaking the longer they stood in front of her Stepmother.

"Excuse me Mrs. Chase but I believe Annabeth's concerns are correct. She's told me all about her Mother and her childhood with you and Mr. Chase. Not once since we've been married these past six months have your or husband attempted to call Annabeth." Percy hoped he hadn't just made a fool of himself in that they had called in the past sixth months. After all he had only known Annabeth for two months. All he had to go on besides what Annabeth told him was Thalia's ranting, and he remembered Thalia coming into his apartment some time ago and slamming his door while mumbling about Annabeth's 'asshat' parents not even calling her on her birthday.

"Well perhaps we could call if Annabeth would bother to give us a call and leave her cellular number with us." She said Annabeth's name with heavy sarcasm, and looked proud of herself. Annabeth just snorted and started laughing. Percy breathed a sigh of relief that he had gotten the six months of no calls correct.

"That's a bold faced lie, and I thought 'ladies don't deceive others'. Nice try though. The twins called me on my birthday to check in on me and wish me a happy birthday. You have my number in your phone, and that's where the twins got it from. I asked them." Annabeth paused for a moment before continuing.

"Why even lie to me? I've known since I was very young that I wasn't wanted in that house. You and Fredrick can take your fake love for me and shove it up your asses. I've found someone who loves me for me, and doesn't resent me and make my life miserable by setting unrealistic standards to abide. I'm glad you and Fredrick held such high standards for me though, because now I'm morally better than the both of you and I'm actually happy." Mrs. Chase made an indignant noise and began to turn away to leave the store.

"Oh, and don't forget to stay the hell away from me and my family. I'm more than happy to see the twins anytime, but as for you and Fredrick just assume I don't want to see you. You both have never wanted me so why should I want to see you two?" Mrs. Chase began to stalk forward to Annabeth, her hands coming up to grab or push her, Percy didn't know which, but he did know he didn't want this woman touching what was his. Percy stepped forward and quickly pushed Annabeth behind him.

"Don't even think about touching her. I have to agree with Annabeth—stay the hell away from my family, especially when it concerns my child. You're not welcome in my family."

Mrs. Chase stormed out and tried to slam the door behind her, but since the door was a standard swinging glass fixture she managed nothing. Percy looked down at Annabeth, expecting to console her and wipe away any tears, but to his shock she was laughing.

"Oh my gods that was so much fun Percy! I can't believe I finally got to tell her off, and it felt so good!" She rested her head against his chest, and closed her eyes momentarily while a smile of happiness crossed her face. Percy gave her a hug and kissed the top of her head before the two straightened out and faced poor Tyson, who had to endure watching that nightmare. He was peeking around the corner, trying to see if Mrs. Chase had left yet. When he confirmed that she had indeed left, he laughed awkwardly and sat another Delight on the counter for Annabeth to grab, as hers had melted during the argument with her Stepmother.

"Thanks Tyson, I'm sorry you had to see that." He grinned toothily and shrugged.

"She seemed like a mean woman who needed a good verbal beat-down." The trio laughed and Annabeth took another bite of the Delight.

On the walk home Percy kept his arm around Annabeth's shoulders, rather than hold her hand, seeing as she was still working on her large Delight. Annabeth had been telling the truth earlier—that argument had felt good and she wasn't regretting any of it. Sure she was still a bit worried that her Stepmother, no Karolyn, knew she was pregnant now, but she also knew that Percy would leap to her defense and protect their unborn child.

"So Percy can I ask you a question?" He hummed in response, not looking away from the possible traffic as they crossed the road. Annabeth waited until they were safely on the sidewalk again before continuing.

"Why did you have an engagement ring in your pocket?" He tripped slightly and brought up his free hand to run through his naturally messy hair.

"Would you believe me if I said I'm not sure?" Annabeth nodded, believing wholeheartedly that he may have bought it on a whim and had been carrying it with him.

"When we were leaving I just randomly grabbed it and put it in my pocket. I'm not really sure why I did, but I just felt like I needed to."

"Well I'm glad you did grab it, otherwise I'm not sure how that encounter would have turned out. Um, and one more question Percy." They came up to the lobby of the apartment building and took the elevator to the floor of their condo, Percy fumbling around for the keys before they entered. Annabeth went over and sat on the couch, propping her feet up on the other seat. Percy walked over after locking the door and lifted her legs so that he could sit with her, her feet resting on his lap.

"What now?" He knew what she was referring to. The issue of the ring weighed heavy on the air.

"What do you want to do Annabeth? I don't want to make you feel like you have to do anything you're not ready for or something like that." She nodded, shifting around a bit so that she could lean against Percy and sighed.

"Well… I don't think I would be totally opposed to keeping the ring on…" She worried her lip and started to twirl the curl that always framed her face, even when it was up. Percy grabbed the hand that had been twirling the strand and got down on one knee, never dropping his eyes from her or letting her hand go. His other hand delved into his pocket to get the box holding the ring, which Annabeth had given back to him before they had left Tyson's shop. He deftly flipped it open, then placed the ring back on her finger once more and kissed her hand. He met her eyes again and gave her a small but serious smile.

"Annabeth Chase, will you give me the amazing honor of becoming my wife and make me the happiest seaweed brain on earth?" Annabeth choked out a laugh and furiously nodded her head while tears slipped down her face. She slid off the couch and half-tackled Percy in a hug while kissing him. When she pulled away, she laughed and swiped the tears from her face.

"Stupid baby hormones are making me all emotional."

"Are you sure this time it's the hormones?" She laughed and he kissed her again.


	6. VI: Meet and Greet

**Don't Think So Much Annabeth  
Chapter VI: Meet and Greet**

_6 Weeks Later (16 Weeks)_

After a few weeks things started to calm back down, and between telling Thalia about the engagement and Annabeth's attempt at fending off an elaborate baby shower, they hadn't been able to find much down time. Annabeth had always loathed the holidays, but only because that used to mean she had to spend 'quality time' with her family, and was forced to endure the wretched singing and the disdainful looks of her stepmother when she refused to smile when others would come for the annual parties held at the estate. However, this year she had someone to spend them with and wasn't subjected to her family.

Thankfully, Percy hadn't questioned it when Annabeth said that she wasn't feeling up to a big party or dinner for Thanksgiving and the two spent the day watching movies, eating a wonderful yet small dinner, and cuddling in front of the fire place. However with Christmas coming up, Annabeth wanted to do whatever Percy wanted since he was so sweet about Thanksgiving.

"Percy, what do you wanna do for Christmas?" She was sitting on the floor in front of the coffee table, blueprints spread out over the entire surface with pencils and rulers littering about in random areas. Percy had dug around and pulled out the blueprints she had been working on for her dream home before they had met, and brought them to her during a particularly rough day. Since then she began to work on them a little bit each day, after initially furiously erasing multiple parts of the original design. He had asked her why, but she refused to tell him.

"Well, I was actually thinking of asking you if you'd like to go to my parents. Mom called me the other day and wanted me to ask you if you'd like to come."

"She called the other day, and you didn't say anything?" He sat on the couch behind her, and started to rub her neck and shoulders in an attempt to calm the fight he could sense was about to start. Luckily, today was a day when Annabeth's back was particularly sore so she let it go.

"Yeah, sorry it kinda slipped my mind… Anyway do you think you wanna go?"

"That depends, am I going to have enough time to shop for a new dress and a pair of flats? I'm definitely not going to fit in any of my other dresses and there is no way I'm wearing heels while three months pregnant." Percy chuckled and pulled Annabeth's hair out of the bun she had thrown it up in to play with the blonde curls. She sighed happily, putting down her pencil and leaning back into Percy.

"Nope, just wear jeans and a hoodie if you want to. It's nothing fancy, just a simple dinner with my Mom and Dad." Annabeth pondered the thought of a simple holiday dinner. All she had ever known were big to-do parties or simply not celebrating at all. A simple dinner between four people (well five people technically) might just be, dare she think, nice.

"Oh, uh yeah, I'd like to go. It sounds like it'd be nice." Percy leaned down and kissed her head, secretly thankful she not only overlooked the fact he had waited to ask her, but also that she was willing to go. His Mom had been asking to meet Annabeth, especially since he told her of the engagement. She didn't know of the events that had taken place earlier in the day, but nonetheless the end of the day is what counted.

"Mom's wanted to meet you, especially now that we're engaged." Annabeth nodded, figuring that he would have already told her.

"Does your Dad know? Does either of them know about this?" She gestured to her barely swollen stomach, hidden by Percy's hoodie she liberated from him early in the morning. Percy thought it was odd that she would care if the stomach of her clothes fit just a teensy bit tighter than usual, but she had once said something about bloating and others judging her.

"About that..." Annabeth looked up and pressed her hand against his cheek.

"Don't worry about it; I understand why you've waited. We can tell them when you're ready, together." Percy smiled and pulled Annabeth up onto his lap, sliding back to lie down with her in his arms.

"I love you, Annabeth."

"I love you too, Percy. Oh and when is the dinner?"

"Christmas day, so tomorrow, and let me just go ahead and apologize for not bringing this up sooner." Annabeth twisted around so that she could look at Percy's face.

"Really, you waited that long?" Percy chuckled nervously while Annabeth just rolled her eyes and pulled the blanket from the back of the couch over them.

"Sleepy?"

"Very, and you still owe me a new dress and flats FYI."

"For not telling you earlier about the dinner?"

"Damn straight."

~.~.~.~.~.~.

"Are you positive I can wear this sweatshirt and they won't think I'm a slob?" Annabeth pulled on the stomach of her dark blue hoodie from her college days, trying to stretch the fabric out so it wouldn't cling to her stomach so tightly. She had no idea if Percy wanted to tell his parents about the baby tonight, but she didn't want to put any pressure on him to tell them yet. In all honestly she could stand to wait a little bit longer, simply due to the fact she didn't want this dinner to become a 'meet your future daughter-in-law and surprise you're also getting a grandchild' type of situation.

"Yup, I told you it's nothing fancy. We're not even eating in the estate tonight if that makes you feel better." She nodded absent mindedly and proceeded to try and coerce her curls into a less frizzy state. Percy kissed her on the cheek and told her she looked fine before guiding her out the door to the waiting car.

As she sat in the passenger seat, adjusting her flats and trying to get her ever-tightening jeans to fit more comfortably as well, she realized Percy had never really said anything about his Dad, except that he owned a company and let Percy work where he pleased. She could only assume he was a relatively nice guy seeing the freedom he allowed Percy, but he could also not care about his son and simply not care what he does.

"Percy, what's your Dad like?" Percy didn't take his eyes off the road as he thought, a small smile gracing his face.

"Well he's a business tycoon, can talk his way out of pretty much any situation, has a PhD in marine life and anything related to it, met my Mom on the beach before he had started his company, and is easy to get along with in general. If you're nervous, you don't have a reason to be. I promise you'll get along just fine with them, and I know they'll love you. I'm pretty sure Mom would trade me for you, and she hasn't even met you yet." She couldn't help a soft giggle at the thought of Percy's Mom choosing her as a daughter, but it did put her mind somewhat at ease.

"Also, when you said we weren't eating at the estate, I was just wondering where are we going?"

"Mom and Dad built a house once she had me, and when Dad's business took off he bought the estate for formal appearances and the stuff that comes with fame, but they kept the house because it was our home and the estate was simply a house." Annabeth pondered over the new found information, as it surprisingly gave her a bit more insight as to what Percy's parents were like. She envisioned Mrs. Jackson as a svelte woman with black hair styled into a short bob, and his father with business-cut brown hair. They both had loving smiles on their faces, and despite the couple being only a speculation, she felt the last of her worries about meeting them drift away. She still felt nervous about their reaction to a grandchild, should her condition slip out, but the majority of her 'what if they don't like me' worries had left her mind.

"They sound wonderful." Percy reached over the console and grabbed Annabeth's hand before kissing it.

"They are, and I just know they'll think you're just as wonderful."

When they finally pulled up to the house an hour later, Annabeth was shocked at the quaintness of the Jackson home. The exterior was all dark grey, light grey, and black with embellishments of dark green around the windows and on the trim. A good size garage was attached to the house, which delighted Annabeth as she was secretly dreading leaving the warmth of the car. The door opened on its own, revealing a used but beautiful 1987 red ford truck, and a dark green convertible. Percy's black car fit perfectly between the two vehicles and Annabeth's nerves started to surface again. Percy parked and proceeded to go around and open Annabeth's door, while grabbing her hand and helping her up. She wasn't looking forward to not being about to get up on her own the further the pregnancy progresses, as she was already having trouble at only the very early three month mark due to her back.

"Come on, they're waiting inside." She nodded, silently praying her sweat shirt remained loose and she wouldn't be offered any alcohol. As they stepped through the door, their senses were assaulted by wonderful smells.

"Percy, is your mother cooking the dinner?"

"Yup, she loves to cook and especially during the holidays. When I still lived here every inch of surface in the kitchen used to be covered with cake, cookies, anything your heart could desire during the holidays, and sometimes just because Mom felt like baking." Annabeth's stomach started to grumble at the thought, and Percy took that as his cue to usher her into the kitchen to meet his mother.

A woman with very long brown hair that was elegantly plaited back was stirring something on the stove, while sprinkling something into another bowl that was sitting on the counter next to the cooking pot. Annabeth's jaw almost dropped at the amount of food that had been prepared, and the enormity of the kitchen itself. A turkey and ham sat side-by-side on the center counter, four different double tiered cakes beside them all decorated meticulously with Christmas images and colors, and any space left was jammed full of cooling racks with cookies on them.

The surrounding counters were filled with stuffing, fruits, vegetables, more deserts, and a special something that immediately caught Annabeth's eye. Percy cleared his throat to let his Mother know they had arrived. She turned the burner down and placed the stirring spoon on the holder before turning around and coming over to give Percy a hug. Without missing a beat, she turned to Annabeth and gave her a hug as well.

"Oh Percy, it's so nice to see you! This must be Annabeth, my dear, welcome to our home. I'm so happy Percy finally decided to bring you around to meet his father and me." She shot a look at Percy, who shrugged with a sorry look on his face. Percy's mom placed her hand against Annabeth's cheek and smiled.

"You are so lovely dear, and these beautiful blonde curls! Rarely do I ever see such a beauty with natural gorgeous blonde hair like yours. Percy sent me a picture of you, but it really could never do you justice." Annabeth was blushing furiously at this point, not used to receiving such praise. Growing up all she had ever heard was complaints about fizziness and a general frumpiness to her appearance.

"Thank you Mrs. Jackson."

"Oh please call me Sally. What kind of daughter-in-law calls their mother-in-law by their last name? Speaking of the engagement, may I see the ring?" Annabeth couldn't help but think of her own stepmother at her comment, but shoved the thought aside for later and shyly held out her left hand for Sally to inspect. She gently held Annabeth's hand, while placing her own to her chest and sighing.

"Percy I must say you picked well. This ring is absolutely gorgeous, and compliments her perfectly." Percy grinned and looked very proud of himself.

"I actually designed it myself, with help from Thalia." Annabeth's head snapped over to look at Percy with surprise.

"You never told me that!" She smacked Percy's arm without thinking, and suddenly was afraid she shouldn't have done that in front of Percy's mother. As she opened her mouth to apologize, Sally started laughing and was joined by a much deeper laugh that sounded like Percy's. A tall man, the same height as Percy, came into the kitchen while still laughing. He had black hair and green eyes like Percy's, and she could tell he was laden with muscles despite the hoodie he was wearing displaying the logo of his company. Annabeth immediately knew this was Percy's father and blushed when the pair had stopped laughing.

"Finally a girl not afraid to put Percy in his place! I approve already! I'm Poseidon and you must be Annabeth. Sally and I are so happy to finally meet you, now that Percy decided to stop being stingy and bring you over." Percy stuck his tongue out at his Dad, who proceeded to copy his son. Annabeth couldn't help but laugh, having a hard time believing that these men ran a very successful business. As the laughter died down, the buzzer went off and Sally told everyone to take a seat while she brought out the last of the goodies. Annabeth immediately jumped in and helped bring the main dishes over to the very large table. Any foods that were even remotely heavy, such as the ham, were snatched out of Annabeth's hand by Percy before she could blink.

"Percy I'm not going to break if I pick up something heavier than five pounds." She whispered as she stacked plates of cookies on her arms with expertise.

"I know but I don't want to take any risks. How do you feel?" He had two of the cakes balanced in each hand as they walked into the dining room side by side.

"I feel a little woozy but the food smells so good, so I think everything will stay down." Annabeth and Percy jumped when a familiar voice called out to them that whispering was rude. Thalia had appeared out of nowhere and was lounged in a chair beside Poseidon, reaching out for one of the few cookies that wasn't blue colored in some way.

"You know what else is rude? Not helping carry in the food your about to eat." Annabeth started laughing at Sally's comment and set the plates down, but not before contemplating taking a particular blue cookie with cinnamon sprinkled on it.

"I'm guessing you have waitressing experience?" Annabeth nodded and finally sat down beside Percy. Thalia, Sally, and Poseidon sat on one side of the enormous rectangular table, and Percy and Annabeth sat across from them. Percy had explained to Annabeth earlier that his parents had bought a very large table simply to hold more food than seat more guests, so no one sat at the heads of the table and instead everyone sat in the middle of the longer sides across from each other. This way everyone could get to the food they wanted, and were still close enough to talk and see one another.

"I worked at the diner on 5th street for two years during my first years in college. It's actually where Thalia and I met." Thalia nodded and ripped into another piece of ham.

"Annabeth and I went to college together also, but for some reason we just never saw each other until the day at the diner. Some asshole was harassing her, despite asking him to stop, so I went over and made him stop harassing her." Annabeth smiled at the memory, thankful Thalia had come to the rescue. Annabeth may have lost her job that day for assaulting a customer. She was no stranger to defending herself if need be, and she was getting ready to punch the guy's lights out when Thalia did it for her. Sally and Poseidon laughed and then asked Percy how Annabeth and he had met. Percy ran his hand through his hair and let out a nervous laugh.

"Well, we met at a club but I had kind of heard Thalia saying she was going to the club with a friend. I had saw Annabeth with her before and hoped she would be there."

"She was I'm guessing?" Sally pushed the plate of blue cinnamon cookies closer to Annabeth while picking up the plate next to it and placing it where the cookies had been. Annabeth was tempted to grab one… or ten… but resisted seeing as she hadn't finished her dinner yet.

"Yeah Annabeth went with me, and I even pointed Percy out to her. You're welcome by the way seaweed brain." Annabeth shook her head and put her palm to her forehead.

"Don't forget to mention that neither of you told me you were related until the next day." Poseidon roared in laughter, managing to get out something that sounded like cousins acting like the idiots they had always been. Annabeth tried to eat another piece of turkey, but a sudden wave of nausea came out of nowhere. She managed to get out a polite excuse from the table before walking calmly to the bathroom.

Never had Annabeth been as thankful for sound resilient walls as she emptied the contents of her stomach into the toilet. She had become so used to Percy being there to hold her hair or rub her back and comfort her that a few tears ran down her face in longing. She sat on the floor for an extra minute, fighting down the residual nausea before getting to her feet, rinsing her mouth and going back to the dinner.

She had only been gone about four minutes, but Thalia had kept them distracted and entertained so that no one would think anything of it. Percy was smiling and laughing with his family, but grabbed Annabeth's hand and squeezed it under the table. She gave him a short smile, enough to let him know that she would be fine.

"So Annabeth, Percy tells me you really like cinnamon?" She nodded yes and forced herself to eat another piece of food from her plate. Thalia was watching her and was impressed that Annabeth was keeping a poker face while eating—she knew it had to have been killing Annabeth to keep eating while she was sick.

"Yes, especially the cinnamon toast Percy made me when I was very sick a few months ago." Sally looked delighted and eagerly pushed the plate of blue cinnamon cookie towards Annabeth. Sally had been slowly nudging it closer and closer to her future daughter-in-law as they ate, wanting her to eat one.

"I know you haven't finished your plate dear, but I really want you to try one of these cookies. Percy loves cinnamon too, and these have been his favorite since he was a baby." Annabeth kept a careful face with a smile on it as she grabbed a cookie and brought it to her mouth. The little bit of food she had ate after getting sick was threatening to come back up on her, and she was afraid that the cookie would make her get sick.

She bit into it, swallowed, and grinned when she found it really was delicious, and as a bonus her stomach seemed to settle a bit. She still felt like rushing for the bathroom at times, but the more cookie she consumed the less nausea she felt.

"These are delicious Sally!" Sally gestured to the plate and told her to eat up. Annabeth happily munched down on the cookies, smacking Percy's hand when he tried to steal one from her hand, and told him to get his own cookie. The family laughed again, and everyone moved onto deserts. Annabeth was shocked to find that a lot of the deserts had cinnamon infused, but was happy to find that nothing she ate unsettled her stomach. The cookies however settled her stomach the best, and she was more than content to sit and eat one after the other while the family laughed and told funny stories from past times.

"Annabeth, would you come help me with something for a second?" Annabeth stood up and followed Sally through the kitchen and into the living room. She instructed Annabeth to take a seat on the couch, which Annabeth didn't mind considering the fireplace was roaring and put off a nice heat. When Sally returned, she had two books in her hands. One book was thick yet small, but the other was without a doubt filled with pictures.

Sally set the smaller one on the coffee table face down, so Annabeth couldn't read the title and placed the other on their knees so that half was on Annabeth and the other half on her. She flipped about one eighth of the way through before she came to a picture of herself, looking about seven months pregnant. She was smiling and holding her rounded stomach, but when Annabeth looked closer she could see very dark circles under her eyes and her skin was very pale.

"This is from when I was pregnant with Percy. I had a very rough time during the pregnancy because I had horrible morning sickness, and no doctors would help me under the pretense that it was normal. Getting sick from eating crackers, just plain saltine crackers wasn't normal and Percy's dad started to worry when I would randomly fall asleep from exhaustion. One time I was standing by the stairs and I just fell asleep, right then and there, but thankfully he caught me before I fell." Annabeth had a cold feeling wash over her, but shoved her thought out of her mind.

"Did the morning sickness go away?" Sally shook her head sadly, but leaned forward and grabbed the other book. On the front was elegant golden penmanship spelling out, 'For My Future Daughter-In-Law'. Annabeth eyed it warily, but Sally still set it on Annabeth's lap. Annabeth cautiously opened the cover to find the same elegant handwriting filling the page.

_My dear daughter-in-law,_

_This book was written for you, in hopes that you may have an easier time carrying your child. While pregnant with my son, I had horrible morning sickness and other typical child bearing ailments that were worse than what the average mother experiences. I've written down the remedies I found worked best to stave off these ailments. There are three main things I ask you to remember:_

_I. Cinnamon is your best friend when your morning sickness starts_

_II. Back rubs, feet rubs, shoulders rubs, etc. are invaluable and will relieve the most prominent aches, pains, and swelling_

_III. Tell Percy about any concerns or worries you have. He will be your biggest supporter and his love and trust will do wonders on those days when you're just not sure if you can do it_

_I will no doubt love you and my grandchild(en), and I wish you the best of luck._

_Love, Sally_

Annabeth looked up at Sally in shock, tears in her eyes.

"You know?" Sally gathered Annabeth into her arms and let her cry on her shoulder.

"When you first came, I noticed the dark circles and the paleness of your skin. I remember Percy telling me about how tan you were, and seeing you this pale came as a shock to me. I had a hunch, but wasn't sure until you excused yourself to the bathroom. When you came back I wanted to tell you to stop eating the dinner and have a few cookies, but I didn't want to make Poseidon suspicious.

"You and Percy weren't ready to tell us yet, and that's okay, but I want you to know that we aren't angry and we don't care that you and Percy aren't married yet. We don't care that you only met about three months ago. I can tell that you two truly love each other, and that you can raise this baby with the love and care it needs. You both are adults, not silly teenagers, and you'll have our support. Poseidon and I weren't married when we had Percy." Annabeth pulled back from Sally's shoulder and wiped her eyes.

"You weren't?" Sally shook her head.

"Nope. We didn't even get married until Percy was almost two, and even then we didn't think it was necessary. What does a piece of paper mean when compared to two people who honest to goodness love each other?" Annabeth smiled and looked down at the gorgeous ring on her finger, playing with it.

"You two aren't getting married because you feel you have to, are you?" Annabeth laughed and shook her head.

"Did Percy tell you about the encounter we had with my stepmother?"

"No, what happened?" Annabeth explained what had happened, and told Sally about the way she was brought up, how her father had never wanted her, and the expectations she was told she had to live up to. Sally shook her head, muttering about how she had never liked Karolyn. Annabeth was shocked that she knew her, until Sally told her about how the Chase's had been invited to a few of the galas thrown by the company, especially when it involved charity fundraising for the Women's and Children's hospital.

"But when you two got home, you talked about it and Percy actually proposed when you said you wouldn't be totally against it?" Annabeth nodded and added on how he had tried to propose the night he found out she was pregnant. Sally laughed and laid the photo album on the coffee table. The book still lay on Annabeth's lap, now closed.

"That sounds like Percy. I'm guessing he apologized and felt like he had ruined your life?" Annabeth nodded, endeared that Sally knew her son so well.

'_I hope I know my children that well'_

"I had to keep telling him that he didn't ruin my life, although lately I know he's been sad because of how sick I've been. He blames himself, and I mean it technically is partially his fault, but I don't blame him. Morning sickness is a normal thing, and mine just happens to be a bit worse than usual." Sally tapped the book.

"I really do hope this helps you. You're still pretty early from what I can tell, and maybe this will help when the worst part hits you." Annabeth hugged Sally tight, thanked her, told her she was about ten weeks along and secretly wished that her mom was as sweet and kind as Sally. When they walked back into the kitchen Percy was nervously running his hand through his hair, Poseidon had an amused look on his face, and Thalia was laughing harder than she does when Annabeth runs from a spider.

"Um, what's going on here?" Thalia just started laughing hard and Poseidon developed an impressive Cheshire cat grin.

"Yeah Percy, what's going on?" Thalia took a deep breath and explained.

"Well seaweed brain here was discussing some business things with him," she pointed to his dad, "when he randomly asked Percy when he was gonna give him an heir to the 'throne'. I started laughing, Percy started stuttering and turned red, and my wonderful uncle here is still waiting for an answer." Annabeth wanted to laugh herself, and she knew Thalia was cracking up because she knew that Percy had already done just what his father asked about. Sally looked at the trio, then at Annabeth and nodded with a wicked smile on her face.

"Sixteen weeks ago." Annabeth and Sally said in unison. At first Percy panicked that his fiancé had told his parents the truth, but then realized that his mother had said it with Annabeth, which could only mean…

"I knew I liked this girl! I was just messing with you son, I knew the minute she started eating those cookies. Your mom did the same thing with you when she discovered them." Annabeth started laughing as hard as Thalia was when Percy just let his head slam down on the table.

"I can't tell if coming here was a bad or good thing." Percy muttered, as Annabeth came over and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"It was a good thing Percy, definitely a good thing."

"Please tell me we can do this again!" Thalia looked at Poseidon, who in turn fist bumped her and nodded while still laughing.

~.~.~.~.~.~

That night Annabeth was curled up against Percy, happily in the best sleep she had gotten in almost four months. Percy had his arms wrapped around her tight, a hand placed over where his child was growing, and reveled in the fact that his parents loved Annabeth, loved their grandchild already, and Annabeth seemed to love them as well.

He stared at the book lying on the Annabeth's nightstand, and hoped that his mother's advice would help Annabeth and keep her healthy. He remembered hearing from his mother once that his grandmother on his father's side died shortly after she had him, leaving behind a grieving husband and three children. She hadn't had very bad sickness with her other two, however with Poseidon she had gotten sick very easily which ultimately resulted in her death a mere five minutes after he was born. She had named him and kissed him, her children, and her husband and then died.

His own mother had been heading down the same path until she had discovered that eating the food Poseidon loved, like cinnamon, lessened the sickness. Percy tightened his arms around Annabeth and vowed that he would not let what had happened to his grandmother happen to the love of his life.


	7. VII: Blueprints

**Don't Think So Much Annabeth**  
**Chapter VII: Blueprints**

_(20 Weeks)_

Percy was honestly trying to do his work, but after leaving Annabeth this morning he couldn't stop worrying about her. She had still been sleeping when he kissed her goodbye, not even waking when he got up to get ready. It was the rare day when his father had actually requested he go into work, which he was still confused about, and had actually thought about telling Poseidon he couldn't.

"Percy? Can you come up to my office?" Percy jumped, ripped from his thoughts, when the speaker on his desk crackled to life but quickly recovered.

"My office is the same floor as yours, Dad. I can't go up."

"Alright you little smart ass, just get up here." Percy grinned and rose from his desk to walk the short distance to his father's office. He knocked on the door, waiting for the door to unlock.

After an incident with an angry drunken worker a few years ago, Poseidon had installed a remote controlled lock on the management's doors. They could all be overrode by the CEO button, but there had never been a case when the locks had to be actively used since the original incident.

"Hey Dad, what's up?" Poseidon looked up from the paper he was signing and gave Percy a grin that made him question his choice to come into the office.

"We need to talk, Percy."

"Oh crap."

~.~.~.~.~.~.

Annabeth stretched happily when she woke up, savoring the feeling of the bed. Usually upon waking up she had to test the limits of her bladder and dart for the bathroom, but this morning she had the blessing of being able to relax for a moment.

The apartment was quiet, and the sunlight shining in through the window Percy had opened made Annabeth sigh happily. Her hands drifted over the soft cotton of Percy's shirt to her swollen stomach. As of a week ago she was officially four months pregnant, and could learn if the life she was carrying was a boy or girl, but after a conversation with Percy on New Year's Eve, they decided to keep it a secret.

"I'm happy you decided not to press on my bladder yet. So if you could maybe remember that it would make me very, very happy."

She laid in bed for a while, waiting until the clock on Percy's nightstand said 7:00 to get up. She vaguely remembered Percy leaving very early in the morning, but couldn't remember where he said he was going or when he would be back. Shrugging, Annabeth drifted into the kitchen to get her usual bowl of cereal before going to work on her blueprints.

It was late evening before Annabeth heard a car on the street that sounded like Percy's, but she had been so absorbed in her planning all day that she chose to ignore it. Her excitement had kept building throughout the day, when she had a break through concerning the layout of the second floor of her dream home.

Another bowl of cereal (her fourth one to be exact) was balanced in one hand while the other scribbled furiously on the blueprints, making specific notes about a room. Unfortunately, when the door to the upstairs living room slammed open and Percy sprinted in the room, it startled Annabeth causing her to toss her bowl in the air.

Both watched as the bowl flew backwards, thankfully landing on the ground and not any of the furniture... or any blueprints...

"PERCY JACKSON IF ANY OF THAT HAD LANDED ON MY BLUEPRINTS I SWEAR OUR CHILD WOULD BE FATHERLESS NOW." Percy ran his hand through his hair and smiled guiltily, quickly sliding on the couch behind Annabeth and rubbing her shoulders. Mercifully, Annabeth quickly calmed down and leaned back into Percy.

"You're lucky that you're so good at this Percy. What in hades made you come in here like that anyway?" Percy grinned, and prayed that his plan wouldn't backfire.

"I sold your blueprints today!"

"Which ones? I didn't think I had any up for bid right now?" This is when Percy's plan became tricky.

"The one on the table right now." Annabeth tensed up, her head slowly turning to look Percy in the eye.

"You. Did. What?" Her anger was starting to boil, hotter than when Percy scared her earlier. Percy had to act clueless and excited, seeming like he didn't understand that he had sold the plans that Annabeth never wanted to sell for anything.

"I sold those blueprints! The builders broke ground today and started on the dirt work." Annabeth leaped off the ground faster than she had in a while, whirling on Percy with angry tears in her eyes.

"Percy! Those blueprints were for my dream home! Mine Percy, not their dream home, mine! How did they get the groundwork started so quickly? We need to call them immediately and get it cancelled!" Percy made his expression sad and confused as Annabeth sat down heavily on the couch.

"They already paid for the prints and the construction..." Annabeth's face fell and Percy knew it was time to hand her the check.

"Percy I don't want it right now. I need to do something to- wait why does it say..." Percy's smile grew as her eyes took in the check.

"It's signed by you... and the check has your name on the top..."

"My parents said to tell you Merry Christmas, even though it's a little late. They gave us the money to build your dream house." Annabeth's eyes welled up with tears and she got up to rush into Percy's embrace.

"I thought the decorations for the baby's room was our Christmas gift?"

"Well, it was part of it but they really wanted to do this for us and their grandchild. The dirt work will take around two weeks, so you have that time to finalize the plans and I'll take them to Dad. His brother's construction company is building everything." Annabeth wiped the tears from her eyes and squeezed Percy as tight as she could.

"Oh gods Percy, I don't even know what to say..."

"You could ask some questions maybe, like where the location is." Annabeth pulled away from Percy and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"You picked that beach location I really liked, didn't you? The one near Long Island Sound?"

"Sometimes you're too much of a wise person."

"Would you have me any other way?"

"Not a chance, Wise Girl."

"I love you too, Seaweed brain." Percy gave Annabeth a kiss before carefully rolling up her blueprints and storing them in the protective cylinder. Annabeth settled onto the couch, kicking her already swelling feet up on the adjoining cushion knowing Percy would just move her legs and put them on his lap.

~.~.~.~.~.~.

Annabeth had been so excited all night from the news of the house that she stayed up until well into the morning until she was finally satisfied with everything. Of course she could continue to tweak the designs for the rest of her life, but the fact that her dream home was actually going to be under construction forced her to settle on a design.

Percy had gotten up early again to go into work and take the blueprints to Poseidon, leaving Annabeth the whole day to do whatever she wanted by herself. After her usual bathroom rush and a bout of morning sickness, Annabeth had parked herself on the couch with her increasingly usual meal of ginger ale with cinnamon and crackers.

Sally's book had been helping her, but sometimes it seemed like no amount of cinnamon could make her sickness go away completely. Annabeth had never been the best at dealing with nausea during the rare times she became sick in the past, so the daily visits from her stomach acid and contents were taking a toll on her body.

Annabeth had fallen asleep in the wooden swing outside on the balcony, curled up in a mountain of blankets after the house started to feel too hot after lying on the couch for a little while. She didn't care if it was winter- being out in the cold wrapped up in blankets felt better than trying to stay cool in a warm house.

She groaned unhappily when a blast of cold air hit her face, waking the blonde architect up out of a surprisingly good sleep. Sally's face peered in Annabeth's cocoon of warmth, a smile and slight concern showing on her face.

"Is everything alright, Annabeth?" She stretched and managed to shift around in her blanket until only her face was exposed to the air and she was sitting up. Sally sat down beside her with a blanket she had gotten from the living room moments earlier, the duo sitting in comfortable silence for a few minutes.

"I'm fine, thank you. Just a little sick and I got too warm so I came out here." Sally nodded and adjusted her blanket up around her shoulders.

"I saw the ginger ale and crackers when I came in. I'm sorry I used my key, but Percy said you would be home today and I got worried." Annabeth smiled, touched that Sally cared so much about her.

Karolyn would have been scolding Annabeth for not answering a door, not looking presentable, and actually for getting pregnant in the first place. Sure she would have been impressed with Percy's job and wealth, but she would have thought what Annabeth found charming in Percy annoying and unsuitable for a husband. Annabeth broke out of her sour thoughts when she realized who was sitting next to her.

"Oh, Sally! I wanted to tell you thank you for the house! Never would I have ever thought I could actually get my dream home at this age. I always figured it would be something more along the lines of a retirement treat." Sally laughed and pulled Annabeth into a hug. Annabeth never had been all that used to physical contact, however recently between Percy and his mother she was quickly adjusting.

"Oh, Annabeth really it's nothing. All we did was give Percy the access to the money."

"What?" Sally could see by the confused look on Annabeth's face that Percy hadn't told her the whole truth.

"The day Percy turned eighteen, he was supposed to be able to access all of his bank accounts since he would be a prominent figure in the company. However when his father and I caught him making plans to buy a yacht and various marine contraptions, we knew we had to put a lock on his account again until we judged that he had matured enough to not toss everything he earned away. We always made Percy work for anything monetary related so that he wouldn't become a spoiled rich brat, but it kind of backfired on us. He ended up wanting to spend all of his money to go live on the sea." Sally laughed softly, thinking about how much Percy was like his father. Annabeth could picture a younger Percy trying to go live at sea.

"So recently we started to discuss how mature Percy has become, especially since the two of you met. He was so enthusiastic about being a Dad before we even knew about the pregnancy—he was just more hyper active than usual and nothing seemed to bother him. Now that we know about the baby, we can see that fatherhood is changing him for the better and we believe that he can handle his assets now, especially since you would beat him senseless if he tried anything stupid again."

Both women laughed, and Annabeth took in all of this information. She had thought that Sally and Poseidon had given them the money, but Percy was actually the one who earned the money for their new home. She didn't think it was possible, but as this information processed she felt yet another piece of her heart be claimed by Percy.

~.~.~.~.~.~.

"How was the visit with my Mom?" Percy came in the door, arms laden with groceries, as he kissed Annabeth's cheek. Her hands were covered in the juices of many watermelons and cantaloupes, a product from one of her cravings.

"Really good. You know how much I love talking to her." Percy was sad that Annabeth had never had a good relationship from her own parents, but he knew that his parents had plenty of love to spare, especially for Annabeth. He began to put up the groceries while Annabeth washed her hands and scooped out a heaping pile of melon into her bowl. She felt lucky that her pregnancy cravings were not only for some healthy foods like fruit, but usually when she had a strong craving and she got to eat what she was craving, the food stayed settled in her stomach.

"You know, I had an interesting conversation with your mother about your bank accounts today. I never knew that you tried to go live at sea..." She leaned against the wall, watching in amusement as Percy dropped the gallon of milk he was holding. He stood up and sheepishly ran his hand through his hair, a shy grin on his face.

"I also know," Annabeth walked up to him and put her free arm around his waist. "That you are the one paying for our home." She had to lean up on her toes to give him a kiss, but he quickly placed her bowl on the counter and picked her up. She pulled away out of breath, eyes sparkling. Her hair was thrown up in a messy bun, she was wearing a pair of old sweat pants and one of his t-shirts, and he never thought she looked more beautiful.

"You're beautiful Annabeth." She blushed and buried her head in the crook of his head neck, laughing. It was the moments like these when Annabeth wondered why she had ever thought that this pregnancy or Percy would ever be a bad thing in her life. Sure her plans of her career were thrown off, but in her mind the alternative she was given was much, much better.


	8. VIII: Bed Rest

Don't Think So Much Annabeth  
Chapter VIII: Bed Rest

_(22 Weeks)_

Percy left her a note not to drive anywhere, but he never said anything about a _friend_ taking her somewhere. Selina and Annabeth had been friends since high school, but lost touch in their last years of college. Usually a degree in architecture takes eight years, but Annabeth completed her schooling in four. The extreme pressure placed on Annabeth had caused her to slowly lose touch with many people, but mainly she used it as an excuse to not keep in contact with her parents. Fortunately Selina took the initiative to call her old best friend, and the two had been in constant talks since then.

Annabeth had been excited to hear from Selina, and without shame she exploited her friend's social nature. Selina visited often while Percy was working. They went to Tyson's shop, bookstores, out to eat, and even shopping a few times. Selina brought her boyfriend Charles by a few times, also a friend from their high school days.

"Are you sure you're up for this Annabeth? You look really tired." They were in route to Annabeth's favorite bookstore in the mall, after much begging on Annabeth's part. She had ran out of projects, couldn't tweak the house's designs anymore, and was out of books to read. She usually would go for a run to ease the boredom, but with a giant belly in her way? She wasn't running anywhere.

"I'm fine. My back was just hurting me last night is all." Selina pursed her lips, but kept her eyes on the road. Percy had actually asked Selina to ensure Annabeth didn't take the car anywhere today. Percy was worried about Annabeth's health. While the morning sickness had let up, she had still been feeling pretty awful.

Selina knew that is Percy tried to restrict Annabeth from doing anything then she would get angry and do it anyway. So, she decided the best thing to do was give her what she wanted and keep an eye on her.

"Aren't you supposed to be resting if your back is hurting?" Annabeth shrugged and continued to look at the roads. While she wasn't fond of the cold and bad conditions the snow brought, the view and pureness of the white scenery made it easier to endure.

She idly wondered if it would be warm or hot when the baby was born. It was due in May, but she secretly hoped the weather would be pretty warm. Despite her birthday being in the middle of July, she had never had a party at the beach or even at a swimming pool. She had always wanted one so desperately, but was always scolded for asking.

Annabeth didn't want her child to grow up the way she did, without fun or being able to run around and use her imagination. If her child wanted to wear whatever and play in the mud, she wasn't going to stop him or her. Even the thought of making her child hate her like Annabeth hated Karolyn made her heart twinge.

"Hey, you good? You kind of spaced out on me for a second? Should I call Percy?"

"Huh? Oh, no don't call Percy. I'm okay, but thinking about what the baby will be like." Selina smiled.

"I hope it's a girl. Then I can spoil her rotten and give her the cutest little dresses."

"You'll have to fight Percy's mom to spoil the baby whether it's a boy or a girl."

"Hey, I don't discriminate. If you have a boy, he will be the best dressed baby in all of New York. Sally can help me tag-team spoil him or her. Do you know what you're having yet?"

"Nope, we're leaving it a secret."

"You're no fun." The girls giggled and continue on their way.

~.~.~.~.~.~.

Once they were in the mall, Selina spilt off to check out the newest books on beauty and cosmetics while Annabeth shot straight to the architecture books. There was nothing more relaxing while shopping then curling up one of the cushy chairs and browsing through what the store had to offer.

The young woman at the counter recognized Annabeth, and immediately started to offer her a cup of coffee until she caught site of Annabeth's swollen stomach. Annabeth didn't know her name, but had seen her quite often and at every visit the woman would bring her a cup of coffee. Interestingly, she disappeared for a few minutes and walked back with another steaming cup.

"Hot chocolate?" Annabeth smiled and accepted the cup graciously. The chill of walking across the parking lot was still set in her hands, so the heat from the cup was welcome.

She had been settled on the chair with feet tucked up beside her, and three chapters in when it felt like the strength drained from her body. The shelves around her started to sway a bit and the cup in her hand was shaking violently.

She had ate a good breakfast this morning, even a good helping of cinnamon to make sure she didn't get sick at the mall. What in the world was wrong with her?

"Crap." She muttered under her breath, and struggled to swing her feet back down onto the floor. As she stood, the world narrowed down into a small circle and began to turn sideways. Annabeth had been about to think how familiar the guy running towards her looked when the world went black.

~.~.~.~.~.~.

"Miss? Mrs. Jackson, can you hear me?" Her eyes felt like they were filled with glue, and her head was pounding with the fiercest headache she could remember. No previous hangover could compare to this pain. Concern for the life growing in her forced her tired eyes open, and over to the nurse by her bed.

"Is the baby okay?" The nurse smiled and nodded.

"Just go back to sleep, Mrs. Jackson. Everything will be okay." Annabeth immediately decided she liked her, and relaxed back into the pillow. She allowed her eyes to drift shut again, but all too soon she felt the uncomfortable squeeze of a blood pressure cuff constricting her arm.

"I hate these things…" She mumbled, shifting onto her left side to get more comfortable.

"Well, maybe if you listened and stayed home you wouldn't be in the hospital right now." Annabeth cringed internally, not liking the tone of Percy's voice. He sounded very upset, and Annabeth had only dealt with an extremely upset Percy a few times. She cracked an eye open to scope out the danger.

"Annabeth," Percy sighed and ran a hand across his face, "I'm not mad at you, I'm just a little frazzled okay? You should be thankful Selina tattled on you after getting to the mall and asked me to come talk to you. She felt like something was off. Why didn't you tell me you were feeling bad this morning?" She tried to pull herself up, but quickly gave up and flopped against the bed.

"Well for starters I don't remember you even leaving. I was dead to the world. Two, I didn't feel that bad. My back just hurt a little bit and I thought that was normal."

"The doctor said it is, but the lack of sleep left you a little dehydrated. Your body keeps trying to overwork itself." Annabeth flexed her right arm to feel for an IV. Of course they had stuck her with one.

She hated IV's and if she could avoid it she would. Percy always joked she would have to get over it for the epidural, but Annabeth would always start shaking her head and state she'd rather deal with the pain. The thought of a needle in her spine was nauseating.

"But I've been drinking enough water."

"Too much too fast. She said you need to sip or take small drinks throughout the day. Not chug a cup of water between blueprints." Too tired to argue, Annabeth just laughed. Fog was dancing on the edges of her vision again, weighing down on her eyelids.

"Get some rest, Wise Girl. I'll be right here."

~.~.~.~.~.~.

The moment Percy got the call from Selina he knew something would happen. He didn't have to say another word to his Dad except, "Annabeth" and ran from the meeting. A bunch of bigwigs had been meeting today, and part of the discussion had been about Percy's future plans for the company. One of the younger investors had brought up that the company was based on family values, and Percy being a bachelor wouldn't be good for the marketing image should he become CEO.

His Dad, thankfully, stepped in and announced the news of Percy's engagement. Percy would have been more sarcastic than Poseidon, and they both knew it. The meeting had moved on and two hours later Percy got the call from Selina and booked it out of there. As he was leaving he overheard his Dad explaining that Annabeth was his fiancé, and silently noted he needed to do something special at the next meeting to make up for running out.

When he arrived at the mall, he watched as Annabeth struggled to untuck her legs from the chair. The cup in her hand fell and Percy began his sprint to catch her before she fell. Percy had to compare the catch to a romance movie for a brief second before yelling to Selina to get the car.

Five minutes later he was shoved out into the waiting room while the doctors poked and prodded his Annabeth to see if she was okay. Selina stayed with him for a little while until Charles showed up around sunset to take her home.

"You okay man?" Percy cracked a smile and nodded.

"They said it was nothing serious and the baby was fine. They just wanted to run some precautionary tests." Charles nodded and gave Percy a quick hug before leaving with Selina. Eventually the nurse let him back in the room, where Annabeth had fallen asleep again.

A year ago someone could have told Percy he would be engaged to a beautiful and intelligent woman, and he would have laughed. If they would have told him he would be sitting in a hospital room waiting to see if his unborn child and fiancé were alright, Percy would have dismissed them as insane.

Yet, here he was.

Percy Jackson, the man who had never had a serious relationship in his life. Percy Jackson, the man who swore he would never have children. He knew there was a chance any woman carrying his child would have the same complications as his Mom and Grandmother, so he decided not to have children.

Yet, here he was. Sitting in a chair next to his sleeping fiancé, hospitalized because of him.

"I should have watched you closer. I could have told Dad I couldn't go to the meeting. The board wouldn't have been happy, but I don't care about that. No amount of money in the world is worth it if I can't share everything with you."

Percy wanted to throw something. He wanted to break something, hit anything to make this horrible feeling of guilt go away. Instead he settled for a deep breath, and rested his head on the edge of the bed. As darkness clouded around his vision, the image of Annabeth with a deathly pale face wouldn't leave his mind.

He decided to take a walk around the halls, to try and clear his head. Annabeth was going to be held overnight, and if Percy couldn't tire himself out to try and get at least a little bit of sleep, it was going to be a long night.

After about twenty minutes, Percy bumped into a blonde-haired guy. The guy was slightly bigger, but he didn't seem upset at all that someone had ran into him.

"Sorry man, I wasn't watching where I was going." Percy ran a hand through his hair, trying to contain a deep sigh. The guy smiled and clapped a hand on his shoulder.

"It's good dude. You look like you're having a rough night anyway."

"You don't know the half of it."

"I'm just here to bring my girlfriend food once she goes on break. Need someone to talk to while we wait?" Percy felt this guy was sincere, and took him up on his offer. The two sat in the waiting room for a good hour, Percy spilling everything and feeling slightly better as the words flowed.

"That's rough. Is she doing okay now?"

"Yeah, now she's sleeping. As far as we know it's just dehydration, but Annabeth seems to like the nurse so at least she's listening."

"I'm glad she likes me. That makes a huge difference, especially if the mother is stubborn." Both boys jumped at the new voice behind them. The nurse from earlier was standing behind them, holding a large bag. She handed the bag to Percy, and when he peered inside he found tons of food waiting.

"Let me pay you for this Miss…"

"Call me Piper, and don't worry. Nurses eat at the cafeteria for free but I got sick of the food after a year. That's why Jason here takes me out or brings me food. Plus you looked like you could use it." Percy gave her a smile nodded his head in thanks. Piper sat down next to Jason, and automatically began rummaging though the backpack at his feet. After pulling out what looked like a Tupperware bowl full of fruits, Piper turned back to Jason and Percy.

"I actually requested Annabeth when I saw her name come through the system. We went to a camping event together in college. I didn't know her personally, but watching her with her blueprints was amazing and I never forgot her. I remember how stubborn she was about somethings, and I figured if she had a nurse she knew she might cooperate better." Percy finished stuffing a sandwich in his mouth and laughed.

"Yeah, she's possibly the most stubborn person I've ever met. I can't wait to see if our kid has her attitude. That'll be something to watch." Piper and Jason laughed.

They made small talk for a while, joking and telling stories from their pasts. Piper looked at her watch and muttered about needing to clock back in before stuffing the many containers back in the bag.

"Oh, Percy? I changed the computer name to Annabeth Jackson and put you as her spouse. I unfortunately know her mother and since she works here I figured she wouldn't want her to know the two of you weren't married. I told my boss about it, and she agreed she didn't want to hear Karolyn ranting and raving about it for the next ten years. I hope that's okay?"

"Oh gods yes, thanks Piper. She actually thinks we're married so that'll save Annabeth from that torture." Piper waved and jogged back to the nurse's station, leaving Percy and Jason alone.

"If you want, just give me a call if you need someone to talk to alright? I know if I had as much as you do on my plate I would've gone insane. Plus Piper keeps bugging me to do something besides work, sleep, and come here." The guys laughed, Percy feeling extremely grateful.

After Jason had left, Percy went back to Annabeth's room. She was still sleeping, her chest rising and falling with deep, even breaths. Percy smiled. She was so beautiful, and the rounded bump of her stomach under the blanket only added to the effect. Her blonde hair was spread around her head, tangles already forming. She would complain about them in the morning, but Percy would gladly help her get them out.

Talking to Piper and Jason gave him enough strength to keep himself from wallowing in guilt and resolve to help Annabeth in any way he could. They had only known each other for about six months, but she had already stolen his heart. If he loved her this much, then he could only guess how he would feel once he held a pink or blue bundle in his arms.

With that vision in mind, Percy finally could close his eyes and get some rest.


End file.
